The management of the Western Delta University in Oghara, Delta State has barred students from the Internally Displaced Persons camp in Edo State from taking the semester examination over unpaid fees.
In a letter by the Registrar, E.O. Ofotokun, dated February 5, 2025, and made available to The PUNCH on Thursday, the university said the camp owed N116.323m, having paid only N7.5m since March last year.
The university noted that the debt posed a challenge to its operations, as it relied on timely tuition payments/
The letter said the management decided to take drastic action to recover the debt.
The letter read, “We write to follow up on our previous correspondence regarding the outstanding debt incurred by your organisation for sponsored students in Western Delta University, Oghara.
“As you may recall, your team visited our institution twice to discuss payment modalities and we were assured of regular payments to settle the indebtedness.
“Unfortunately, our records indicate that only N7,500,000 has been paid since March last year.
“The total outstanding amount for the 2024/2025 academic session now stands at N116,323,000.”
The university management said following the indebtedness, all sponsored students would not be permitted to sit the first semester examinations until the debt was cleared.
“Consequently, all your sponsored students will not be permitted to sit for the upcoming first semester examinations until this debt is settled.
“We advise you to provide a comprehensive payment schedule to ensure the significant reduction of this indebtedness. We expect a prompt response regarding this matter,” the letter read.
The Overseer/Director of the International Christian Centre for Missions and Christian Home for the Needy, Pastor Solomon Folorunsho, who runs the camp, called on well-meaning Nigerians for help.
In a statement, Folorunsho said, “Ladies and gentlemen of the press, kindly go through this letter. It is one of the emergencies that have come on our children from several schools.
“This is just one among many and we have over 60 students in this school in 400 and 500 levels. We need a miracle. Kindly help in any way – by reaching out to the school, relevant agencies, government and others.”