Buhari, governors told to give students money, scrap school fees

A political analyst, Jumu’ah Abiodun, has written to President Muhammadu Buhari and Governors to give students in tertiary institutions financial stimulus.

In an open letter on Wednesday, the activist also appealed to them to waive tuition fees for the 2020 session.

He copied the Nigeria Governors Forum (NGF), Senate President, Ahmed Lawan and House of Representatives Speaker, Femi Gbajabiamila, All Progressives Congress (APC) Leader, Bola Tinubu, Minister of Education, Adamu Adamu, among others.

Jumu’ah noted that parents were facing economic hardship due to coronavirus, despite gradual reopening of the economy.

He referred to the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) which seek to ensure that every child has access to quality education by 2030.

Jumu’ah said with the COVID-19 pandemic, so many students will drop out of school due to not being able to pay their fees.

This, according to him, would worsen Nigeria’s problems as youths would be left idle, hopeless, depressed and unable to fulfill their dreams.

He told authorities that property owners have been sending messages to students for renewal of their hostel/accommodation rent.

“We can’t blame some of these properties owners as most of them are on mortgage payments scheme: some survive, feed and finance their own wards school fees through such investments.”

The author urged Buhari to meet governors and encourage them to initiate palliatives for students in their respective states universities, polytechnics and other higher institutions of learning.

Jumu’ah also called for an increase in Nigeria’s COVID-19 testing capability.

He expressed concern that the number of confirmed cases and deaths reported on a daily basis “are less than what is out there”.