The Sokoto State Government has commenced payment of three years ‘ arrears of tuition fee for its students studying at the Usmanu Danfodiyo University, Sokoto (UDUS).
The government had signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the institution to pay the tuition fees of students from the state.
However, the state government had failed to remit the money for three years, a situation which made UDUS to bar the affected students from sitting for examinations.
Chairman of the Screening Committee, Alhaji Nasiru Dantsoho, said the verification had been completed and the remittance of the outstanding fees had commenced.
He said the intervention followed reports that UDUS had threatened to send the students home unless the fees were paid in full.
Dantsoho said the money for those screened would be paid to the university to enable the students to sit for the semester examinations and subsequent academic sessions without distraction.
The committee chairman recalled that Governor Ahmad Aliyu, had, on assumption of office, expressed concern over the situation.
He said the former administration of Aminu Tambuwal left huge debts for the new government, especially in the area of scholarship for students.
”The situation in which our students were rejected warrants us to embark on the screening to make sure only Sokoto students benefit from the payment,” he said.
The chairman said the panel had screened students from the 23 local government areas.
He added that a similar exercise would be undertaken in other institutions if the need arose.
Some of the students told the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) that they felt relieved, and expressed appreciation to the state government for the intervention.
They added that they would now face their studies without distraction.