The Nation Newspaper

Tag: FEE

  • NAFDAC crashes MSMEs registration fee by 50 %

    NAFDAC crashes MSMEs registration fee by 50 %

    The National Agency for Food, Drugs Administration and Control (NAFDAC) has reduced the cost of registring products from Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) by 50 per cent for companies with five or less than five employees, in line with Federal Government’s policy on Ease of Doing Business (EDB).

    Speaking during NAFDAC Stakeholders Consultative Forum on Ease of Doing Business in Nigeria, at Mambayya House, Kano yesterday, the Acting Director-General of NAFDAC, Mr. Ademola Mogbojuri, who was represented by NAFDAC Director, Special Duties, Dr. Abubakar Jimoh, explained that the rationale behind the reduction was to encourage MSMES to solidly stand on their feet and continue to contribute their quota to the economic development of the country.

    He also stated that NAFDAC has also concluded plans to reduce registration time by 90 days, adding that, “NAFDAC is to implement 50 per cent reduction in cost of registration of products for companies with five or less than five employees.”

    According to him, NAFDAC has also worked out modalities for the establishment of Small Business Support Desk (SBSD) to guide small business through registration process, which will also serve as enquiry point for small business on regulatory issues.

  • Union seeks instalmental fee payment

    President of the Students’ Union Government (SUG) of Rufus Giwa Polytechnic, Owo (RUGIPO), Ondo State, Temitayo Ayejuyo has said plans are underway to introduce new method of payment of school fee. The union, he said, was holding talks with management on instalment payment to ease students’ burden.

    Temitayo, a Higher National Diploma (HND) Accountancy student, made this known during a congress held at the Centre Café Auditorium to commemorate his 100 days in office.

    He said: “During my campaign, I promised to ensure payment of school fees would be done in instalments. I am assuring you now that, before the end of February, students will start paying their fees in instalment. We are in talks with the management.”

    The union leader said the congress was held to enable students participate in decision of the union. This, he said, was part of his campaign promises to keep the union vibrant and enhance service delivery.

    Students had the opportunity to ask their leaders questions on the union’s progress in the last 100 days.

    Temitayo, who was elected as SUG president after his third attempt, stressed the need for students to support the union leaders. He said the union had ensured the school released the results of first semester examination before the second semester started. He promised to ensure the tuition fee is being paid on instalment basis among other promises.

    The union leader reiterated that accountability and transparency would remain the focus scale of his administration. He clarified the increment in the union’s yearly due from N500 to N1,000 and changing of the due payment form manual to bank deposit, which students described as insensitive.

    He said: “As a leader who believes in accountability and transparency, the new method is to ensure accountability. We knew what transpired during the administration of our predecessor. The method they used lacked transparency.”

    He said the payment through bank deposit was introduced to make it easier for students to know how the union funds are spent. Temitayo said the union would revert to old method temporarily to enable more students pay.

    Reacting to an issue raised by a ND II Mass Communication student, Deborah Olajutemo, about inadequate toilets on campus, the union president promised to address the situation “as soon as possible”.

  • Post-UTME screening fee is N2,500

    The Federal Ministry of Education and other stakeholders in the tertiary education sub-sector have agreed on N2,500 as the fee for post-Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination (UTME) screening.

    A statement by Prof. Michael Faborode, the secretary-general, Association of Vice-Chancellors of Nigerian Universities (AVCNU) yesterday in Abuja, said the agreement was reached after a deliberation of officials of the ministry, federal universities, polytechnics and colleges of education.

    The secretary-general said it was agreed that the post-UTME screening should be sustained following the scrapping of the Computer-Based Test (CBT).

    “From the statement made by the Permanent Secretary, Dr Folashade Yemi-Esan at the meeting, there is no objection to screening by universities as long as it is not another CBT.

    “She agreed that universities should advertise and the maximum fee charged for the screening should be N2,500 – bank charges inclusive.’’

    According to the statement, the association will formally convey its stance to the Minister of Education, Malam Adamu Adamu.

    Adamu’s announcement of the ban on post-UTME had raised anxiety among stakeholders.

  • Abia Warriors dismiss Chikatara’s transfer fee

    Abia Warriors dismiss Chikatara’s transfer fee

    Abia Warriors have refuted reports in the media that CHAN 2016 revelation, Chisom Chikatara to Wydad Athletic Club Casablanca of Morocco for $700,000.

    Refuting the story, principal partner of Activity Chambers, the club’s legal consultants, Johhny Ogbah, admitted that Chisom has been transferred to Wydad Athletic Club, but insisted that the figure quoted by the papers is not true.

    “The truth is that Chisom Chikatara is now a player of WAC Morocco. All parties have agreed and signed the necessary documents, but the figure being quoted is not correct.

    “It is important that journalists verify stories before rushing to publish it. I read the story and there was no single quote from an official of either clubs, or the player or his intermediary. I wonder where the journalists got the figures they are brandishing from.

    “Our national dailies too should be careful to verify stories they see on websites before publishing them. A simple phone call may have given the true picture of the whole scenario but nobody did so, they just rushed and published without verifying. This is very bad.”

    Asked to reveal the exact figure, Ogbah said it would be unethical and unprofessional for him to do so, as this is privileged information.

    “As is the practice in other climes, if you must report a figure, confirm it. If you do not confirm it, then report it as an undisclosed fee as it is the business of both clubs involved to choose to disclose the fee to the press if they wanted, otherwise they are not bound by any law to do so,” Ogbah further revealed.

    In his reaction, Abia Warriors chairman, Emeka Inyama in refuting the figures being branded as Chikatara’s transfer fee, said the 21-year-old Ibeku-born striker has already signed the dotted lines to join Wydad Casablanca, adding that he was now updating his documents at the Moroccan embassy to enable him unite with his new club as soon as possible.

  • Our fee collection headache, by schools

    Our fee collection headache, by schools

    What has the economy got to do with school fees? A lot, say school proprietors who are lamenting the late payment of fees by many parents. They are seeking the government’s intervention to prevent the collapse of their business. KOFOWOROLA BELO-OSAGIE and OLUWATOYIN ADELEYE report.

    FOR many private schools, these are not the best of times. They are feeling the pinch of the economic downturn as many parents are struggling to pay school fees.

    School proprietors and managers that spoke to The Nation complained about the delays in fees payment by parents in the past one year compared to what obtained in the past.

    Dr Jonathan Akpan, proprietor, Access International School in Magboro, Ogun State, said nowadays, not all fees are completely paid by mid-term.

    “Before, by mid-term, you have all school fees complete.  Last year, it fell to 80 per cent of the fees.  This term, it is even worse because some parents have been laid-off.  Some parents are yet to receive December and January salaries because some states are yet to pay their workers.  We are living on promises -’I will pay once they pay us;’ or ‘I will pay at the end of the term,” said Akpan, who charges those in the primary section N22,000 and their secondary school counterparts N35,000 per term.

    Mr David Jaiye, Head of School, Ol’ Bharms Height School in Ogba, Lagos, also said there has been noticeable delay in fees payment in his school.  He said up to 50 per cent of parents have resorted to part-payment compared to before.  And by the end of the term, he said about 90 per cent pay in full. The school charged between N56,000 and N67,000 (lunch inclusive) this term.

    “I can tell you that up to 50 per cent of the parents do part-payment. Many of them, about 90 per cent, would have finished paying before the end of the term,” he said.

    Lamenting the increasing challenge of running schools, Prince Shakiru Raji, Proprietor, Golden Light International School at Ejigbo, Lagos, said between 65 and 70 per cent of parents pay fully at the end of the term.

    “Payment of fees has been very difficult.  There has been a lot of withdrawal of students to public schools or schools of a lower cadre.  Apart from those that I give scholarship, those that will not carry their payment forward again are probably like 65, maximum 70 per cent,” he said.

    Mrs Abdulrahmon Khadijat, Head Teacher/Principal, Radab Schools in Isheri-Osun, Lagos, said with the downturn, the percentage of full-fee payers reduced to 60 per cent last year.

    “Last year, the economy greatly affected us.  But we thank God we are surviving.  At the end of the term 60 per cent pay fees in full.  Of the remaining 40 per cent, about 10-20 per cent pay part; the remaining pay nothing at all,” she said.

    fees payment is said to have even been slower since the new academic session began.

    Mrs Taiwo Ahmad, proprietor of Alywasi’ Children’s School in Mushin said the school has not collected up 30 per cent of fees this term.

    “So far, only about 20 to 25 per cent of parents in my school have paid their school fees. This is mostly due to the current economic situation in the country, because that is what the parents have been complaining about. It has never been this bad before,” she said.

    Mrs Chidi Adebayo of Basil International School, Ilupeju, said her school is owed even more by parents; while Pastor Violet Michael of Zing-Zam Crest Montessori School, Apapa, said parents have also fallen short in their schools.

    “About 10 per cent of the parents have paid full school fees. Others are still paying in bits,” said Mrs Adebayo.

    “Only about 20 per cent of my parents have paid full school fees.  Before, by now, at least, 40 per cent would have paid. But recently, we have experienced a drop in the percentage of parents that pay full school fees early, Pastor Michael said.

    Many parents admitted that they owed all or part of their children’s school fees, blaming the problem on the economic crunch.

    One of them, Mrs Bukola Omotosho, a trader in foodstuff, said: “I have paid part of my children’s school fees. They attend Jibralta School, Ifako Ijaiye. Even the school fees have increased.”

    Another parent, Mrs Florence Okewole, said she is seeking additional work to augment her family’s income to afford fees.

    “I am a hair dresser but I am learning how to sew now so that I can make extra money. My husband’s job has become very bad. Before, he used to work 12 hours and make more money. But now, they have cut down the time he works at the office, which means the money has reduced. We have paid part of our children’s school fees,” she said.

    Mr Emeka Chukwu, a business man, also has problems paying fees. “I have three children in three schools, and I have only paid part of their fees. Their school fees altogether add up to N120, 000. The economy is killing me. I am a business man, but there is no business, so how can I survive? My condition is critical,” he said.

    However, a few other parents said that they have paid school fees in full because they prioritise.

    For instance, Mr Ayodeji Oni, whose daughter attends Hallmark School, Ikeja, where he paid N118,000 this term, said he reduced other expenses to ensure he could afford her fees.

    “Yes, I have paid my daughter’s full school fees because I hold education in very high esteem. So, even if I have to cut down on my eating and other expenses, I would not compromise her education. I would not change her school, no matter how bad the economy gets, because good education is very important,” he said.

    The delay in payment of fees is however affecting schools negatively.  School owners lamented that they are finding it difficult to pay salaries, suppliers, and buy materials on time.

    Deaconess Funke Geshinde, proprietor of Triple Cross Schools, Ogba, said schools incur cost they cannot offset.  “Before resumption, there are a lot of things we have to do which we borrow money for; and the money is due immediately we resume.  So if parents don’t pay early, then it affects the repayment of those loans. This really affects us because when salary is due and we don’t have money, we have to go and borrow and the interest rates are so exorbitant, as high as 10 per cent per month. So the money that should have served as interest for the school is used to pay interest to the banks,” she said.

    Pastor Ajisafe Joshua of Best Generation Nursery and Primary School, Shogunle, also said poor payment has delayed salaries in his school.

    “Normally, by the 24th or 25th of the month, I always pay my staff; but I am seeking for bank loan now to assist us to collect some over draft so that we can pay our staff,” he said.

    Mrs Ahmad said not only salary is being delayed in her school, but the rent of the property has not been paid as a result.

    “Normally we would have paid (salaries) between 20th and 26th of the month. Now we would have to pay January salary in February. Our school rent is being delayed also,” she said.

    Pastor Michael also said his teachers would receive their January salary this month.

    “We would have to go into February to pay. Thank God our teachers understand and they are patiently waiting, because they know things will get better,” he said.

    Despite the delays, the school owners said they find it difficult to send defaulting pupils away.

    Alhaji Akande Kamal, President, National Association of Proprietors of Private Schools (NAPPS), Lagos Chapter and proprietor of Supreme Pillars College, Badagry, said schools have to empathise with parents.

    “When the parents come, they table all these issues to us and we reason with them,” he said.

    Mr Jaiye of Ol’ Bharms Height School, added that schools have to be supportive, especially when the parents used to pay on time in the past.

    “School business is a relationship business.  If you are not close to the parent, you will not know their complaints. So this kind of children, you just have to let them stay until their parents recover,” he said.

    Prince Raji also takes a similar approach in his school.

    “If somebody that has been paying regularly carries over fees to the next term, we understand.  For example, we had a man whose wife had to give birth through Cesarean Section, we had to relax,” he said.

    However, Dr Akpan urged the government to revive the economy so it does not affect quality education in schools.

    “There is need for government to intervene.  If not, the outcome in the next five years will be half baked graduates.  Because what most schools would do is to employ unqualified teachers to teach in their schools when they cannot afford trained teachers,” he said.

     

  • NOUN’s extortionate fee regime

    SIR:  It is time for the relevant authorities in charge of academic matters in Nigeria to turn to the National Open University of Nigeria to end the insupportable exploitation currently being executed at that institution.

    That the National Open University of Nigeria has turned itself into a money-draining agency is stale news to those who are conversant with the system. But it is inconceivable that a people can be pushed to this humiliating extent and still decide to maintain grinning visages in the face of such alien oppression! It is this passive role championed by the University’s students themselves that I have struggled so hard to decipher.

    Although I have been very uncomfortable with the entire situation, I deliberately kept mum all along hoping that this epidemic would die a natural death. But now, with its rapid growth, developing deep roots into our system like a vicious virus, I feel it is time to blow the whistle. Firstly, it is not clear why the University charges a COMPULSORY registration fee for research project for final-year students. Last semester (2014/15 academic session), this fee was charged at N10,000. Now, the University has, for unknown reasons, and without any official notice to its students, decided to increase this fee to the sum of N15,000. I am unable to figure out the rationale for which students should pay the university for a research that will be carried out by the students themselves. The act is completely indefensible and a deliberate ploy to get money off students.

    Secondly, depending on the course, students are sent out every semester for Industrial Training. The university also charges a COMPULSORY registration fee for this, and an additional N1,000 which must be paid separately into a Stanbic IBTC Bank account! Last semester, as in the academic session stated above, this fee was N3,000. At the moment, the University has raised it to N10,000, again, without any viable reason and without any prior notification.

    Thirdly, it is not clear why the university should charge a fee for what it termed ‘Result Verification’. This fee is payable every year and it is charged at N5,000. Despite this fee being paid, students who have attempted to verify the authenticity of the controversial results awarded to them have largely hit a rock. So, if results are not verifiable, how then can the National Open University of Nigeria justify the receipt of this money from students?

    Fourthly, the university gets paid for course materials but it never provides these materials.

    Prices for each material depend on the credit units of the course. At the moment, a two credit unit course material is N2,000, however slim the material may be, whilst a three credit unit course is

    charged at N2,500. Payment for these materials is also COMPULSORY. Now, supposing a student runs 10 courses in a single semester, the minimum payable for course materials alone stands at N20,000. This fee does not include fees for examination registration.

    Students must pay the sum of N1,000 per course if they are to participate in any semester examination. This, for a student running 10 courses, brings the fee to N30,000 for a single semester! And do note that this analysis does not include compulsory fee, which maybe N28,000 or N13,000, depending on the semester. After receiving payment for course materials from students across study centres nationwide, the university may issue one, two, or zero course materials out of a possible 10 as illustrated above.

    Thereupon, the university advises students, without compunction, to get these materials in whatever way they deem fit. At this point, students are solely on their own to hunt for additional money in order to re-purchase these materials elsewhere. The university is unconcerned about what becomes of students who are unable to get materials afterwards. Such is the insensitivity being inflicted on a people whose only offence is their decision to seek knowledge.

    I invite relevant authorities to conduct a comprehensive review of the illicit activities of the National Open University of Nigeria. Those running the university must understand that the objective for setting up the institution was to disseminate knowledge, not as a ploy to take advantage of a student community mainly dominated by those at the lowest level of our economic ladder. That will not be acceptable going forward.

     

    • Abiola Adedeji,

    Lagos

  • Ekiti varsity students protest late registration fee

    Ekiti varsity students protest late registration fee

    •Police teargas protesters

    The imposition of a N10,000 late registration fee by the authorities of the Ekiti State University (EKSU) triggered a protest by the students yesterday.

    The placard-carrying students took to the streets of Ado-Ekiti, the state capital, as early as 7am, singing anti-management songs. They blocked the Ado-Iworoko Highway.

    The protest forced some motorists to use one side of the dual carriage way; others took alternative routes.

    Besides the contentious late registration fee, the students are also enraged by the N5,000 entrepreneurship fee, epileptic power supply on campus and closure of portals.

    The students marched on the Governor’s Office but were prevented by armed policemen, who teargassed them.

    The students regrouped at the gate of Christ’s School, where Governor Ayo Fayose came to “pacify” them.

    Their spokesman, who pleaded for anonymity, accused the management of making life difficult for them, by imposing what he called “underhand levies”.

    While calling for the abrogation of the late registration fee, the protest leader also called for the reversal of the entrepreneurship fee and advocated the reopening of the university portal.

    Fayose announced the reversal of the N10,000 registration fee and other issues, which triggered the protest.

    He said his administration would not interfere in the running of the university.

    On electricity, the governor urged the students, especially those living outside the campus, to tell their landlords to pay their electricity bills.

  • Why we may review fee, by CU vc

    Why we may review fee, by CU vc

    Two years ago, you said CU adopted eight-point agenda to drive its mandate of becoming one of the top 10 universities globally by year 2022. Could you shed light on the agenda?

    One of it is to create a unique Covenant University culture of responsibility, spirituality and most  importantly, discipline, such that anywhere you see our students that culture is obvious in them. Second, is the area of research and number three is to have such research recited. Fourth is teaching and I make bold to say here that we have massive investment in teaching facilities. Currently, we have about five teleconferencing centres here and this makes it possible for us to interact and present papers from here to any part of the world.

    During the last Ebola Virus Disease saga, we hosted international conference here in conjunction with the University of Florida. We only used our teleconferencing facility here to deliver our papers without having to travel to the US. Shortly afterwards, Nigeria was declared Ebola-free. It might interest you to know that, that effort has earned us a mileage towards the dream we are pursuing.  Another international conference will be holding in Harvard (University) and by reason of what we have done, I have been invited as a keynote speaker with a view to forging collaborations towards application of IT on issues bordering on health.

    Do you set goals at all, and if you do, how do you go about attaining them?

    On a yearly basis, CU sets goals and for this year, our goals are: innovation, impact and internationalisation. With regards to our international students, we have them out there and we maintained close tie with them. If we see any of them going into an area that is of interest to us that we intend to engage the general public, we give them preference because we want to ensure that in no distant time, some of our graduates would emerge nobel laureates. As a motivation for faculty staff towards winning awards, we have instituted some strategic moves. At present, CU has a number of research clusters, which work as a team to addressing certain societal challenges and we motivate them appropriately. This university fully sponsors any faculty to any international conference anywhere in the world so long as you have at least two papers to present. This is geared towards getting more recitation for the university, which automatically extends our reach.

    What is the university doing in internationalising its studentship?

    This is second semester. By March, members of management would be combing the entire African continent towards seeking collaborations with renowned institutions. Again, we are about placing an advertorial for the 2014/2015 admission exercise and we are reaching out to the African nations to attract a variety of students.

    We will soon be giving out a Samsung tablet to all our students, which will make them learn on their own. The scheme is aimed at improving internal efficiency of our students. We should be able to say as many as the Lord has given to us, it is our desire to graduate that number of students in record time. We have approximately 8000 and we are conscious of our carrying capacity. Aside, we are not likely to overstretch our facilities. There are cases of overcrowded classrooms resulting in more pressure on the facilities, which are sometimes not enough.

    You said CU would soon begin a downward review of its fees and embark on industrialisation towards improving its IGR, how does it intend to achieve this?

    Let me correct a misconception, our fees might be a bit high, but If we compare it with others, you’ll probably discover that we are the least. However, I have the privilege of informing the public that by the thinking of Dr David Oyedepo, the proprietor of this university, the commission is thinking of reducing the fees to allow more people benefit from CU, however it is going to be highly competitive. This means we need to work more on improving our IGR. We are up to the task. We only need to consolidate on our research endeavours.

    That means some of your research products are probably going to be commercialised?

    Very soon, we shall be launching the CU luncheon. The idea is to have a measure of endowment in our faculty. It’s an avenue to invite them (captains of industry) here, take them around to see what we have, and interact with the research focus in our faculty. Come next academic session, the university will be into production of certain items in an unprecedented feat. So, we can tell the proprietor base that we can confidently depend on them, because looking at our projections for that venture, we are going to be raking in billions. And with that the fees can now be reduced, noting that any education venture is not just for money making, but social service.

    There is also the widespread criticism that CU appears to be producing more First Class graduates than other universities?

    This is not strange to us! I was privileged to have witnessed a number of convocation ceremonies here; and there is not time that we are gathered that this question does not arise. A few years ago, the Federal Government instituted the Presidential Special Scholarship Scheme for Innovation and Development. This scheme is opened to all Fist Class graduates in Nigerian universities.  In the maiden edition, CU produced 10 per cent of the awardees. To us, the measure of quality is nothing, but creating a level playing ground; that is, you subject them all to a test. So, having emerged top in the maiden edition, the university also produced 10 per cent in the second edition. That was just sufficient to convince every doubting Thomas.

     

  • Rumour mill and the NYSC fee

    Nigerians are a funny lot. Oh, do I even say we are funny? I think we are simply unique. We always claim we are enlightened, yet we don’t seem to put that into use when dealing with certain social and political issues. Is there any country where rumour mongering thrives the way it does in Nigeria? I seriously doubt. At times, when you see an educated person discussing an issue that he does not have facts and figures on, simply ask him a simple question: have you tried to find out the true position of things? He is likely to shrug his shoulders and tell you that everyone, including himself, is discussing it.

    For many, this is likely to be the case with the ‘raging’ controversy surrounding the decision by the management of the National Youth Service Corps, NYSC, to ask prospective corps members to buy a scratch card with which to download their call-up letters online. NYSC, acording to the rumour mill,  asked them to pay N4000 before they could collect their call-up letters; in other words,  pay N4000 to serve their country. At least, that is the version of the story that the rumour mill was feeding members of the public. Do I say that your truly was also sucked in by the story? Yeah, I was. But I just decided to go a step further. Why should a body like the NYSC charge prospective corps members such amount of money all because they wanted to get their call-up letters? But wait a minute, do most Nigerians double-check before going to town over an issue?

    These are the things I was able to find out concerning the call-up letter imbroglio. The most significant is that NYSC gave options – in fact, two options. A prospective corps member can buy scratch card and go online and do all the things he or she needs to do so that he or she already has his or her table ready before getting to the camp. This option includes doing registration online (which usually takes at least 36 hours in the camp upon reporting) and then downloading the call-up letter and even the biometrics would have been done online. The other option is that the prospective corps member goes to her school where he or she has just finished, and then picks up his or her call-up letter by hand and then proceeds to the state where he or she has been posted to. If I am not making a mistake here, I think this is very straightforward and the choice, if again I am correct, is that of the prospective corps member: you can either raise the N4000 and then proceed to the cyber café beside your house and do everything online or go to your school and pick up your call-up letter and proceed to your orientation camp.

    Does the NYSC have some fault here? Yes, it surely does. And that fault stems from the fact that not enough information and communication were provided as far as this novel idea is concerned. People resist change and that is natural. But that change becomes doubly challenging when it comes with parting with your hard-earned money. Clearly, the idea of asking people to pay to collect their call-up letters will surely raise eyebrows, mainly because it represents a departure from the norm. Most of us who did that mandatory one-year national youth service are aware that we just went to the universities and polytechnics where we finished and picked up our call-up letters. And may I also say that it was easier then. No insecurity like this and one could sleep even by the roadside, if stranded, with both eyes closed. If you were to fear anything, perhaps it had to be natural elements.

    However, I think we need to look at the issue from what we call opportunity cost and alternative foregone in elementary economics. If convenience and safety are the names of the game, which option will someone who finished from, say the University of Benin, but who resides in Lagos, pick? Brave the elements, square up with the inherent dangers and hit the Benin-Ore expressway to go and pick his or her call up letter or just raise N4000 and buy the scratch card? In fact, if this option of a scratch card was available when I was to go for my orientation camp at the Black Gold Orientation Camp, Kaduna, some 18 years ago, I would have grabbed it with both hands. I finished from the then Ondo State University, Ado-Ekiti and I came to Lagos immediately after finishing with my clearance. When the NYSC call-up letter came, I had to hit the road to Ado-Ekiti where I picked up the letter. I then came back to Lagos again before proceeding to Kaduna. You can imagine the stress!

    I have deliberately brought up these options and my own personal experience to let Nigerians know that at times, we do not look at the larger picture when we are passing judgment. This is by no means a case of trying to help NYSC plead its case. I want to believe the body has enough hands in its public affairs department to tackle the issue. But this write-up aims to deal with two issues simultaneously. And those issues are the fact that Nigerians should always get their facts right before condemning any policy by any government agency. Can government be trusted in this part of the world? I seriously doubt that. In fact, going by the unsavoury experience of the Nigerian Immigration Service (NIS) recruitment fiasco, every Nigerian has all the reasons in the world to be circumspect when asked by government agency to pay for any service.

    In this regard, I can understand the indifference. But indifference is again quite different from deliberately consuming misinformation when technology has made life less miserable for us when it comes to information gathering and verification. It is high time we collectively dried up the oil that keeps the rumour mill running in our society. Again, I am not deluding myself that the handlers of the rumour mill would not have another issue to feast on tomorrow whenever they consider the NYSC N4000 controversy too stale to keep on the front burner. They will surely have. And in most cases, it has to do with one government decision or the other. That is the nature of the society we live in. But we can change it.

    And in ending this, I still go back to the main issue: the NYSC N4000 call-up letter ‘fee’. As earlier stated, the issue here is that of commonsense: will you spend N4000 and get your call-up letter within the confines of your sitting room (if you have internet connection in your house) or go to your university and pick it? It is a choice that is purely that of the person involved. The key issue here, as I have found out, is that NYSC is not forcing any prospective NYSC member to buy into that option and that is the main reason why the controversy surrounding the issue is needless.

     

    • Adefeso writes from Lagos
  • Gov. Ahmed approves 130% sign-on fee for Kwara Utd

    Gov. Ahmed approves 130% sign-on fee for Kwara Utd

    The Kwara State Governor, Abdulfatah Ahmed has approved  payment of  the 2013/2014 sign-on fee and clearance fee for Kwara United FC of Ilorin.

    The  Commissioner for Sports and Youth Development, Prince Saheed Popoola disclosed this yesterday.

    He said the governor has also approved the payment of the remaining 30% of the 2012/2013 sign-on fees for the team.

    Prince Popoola said Governor Ahmed is fully committed to the welfare of the team and sports generally in the state and charged the players and management of the team to reciprocate by promoting to the Premier League next season.

    The General Manager of the club,  Haruna Maigidasanma, while commenting on the development, said the governor is a sport loving governor, who is the first governor to pay 100 per cent sign-on fee.

    He said the payment had come at a right time for the team which is currently on the second position on the log of group A of the Nigeria National League (NNL).