Amosun Indefinitely Closes OOU

The Olabisi Onabanjo University, OOU, Ago-Iwoye, Ogun State, has been shut by the state government. A statement issued by the Secretary to the State Government, SSG, Taiwo Adeoluwa, disclosed that the action was taken to forestall any possible breakdown of law and order in the state by the students, who recently protested against the reduction of their school fees.

On Tuesday, August 12, 2014, Governor Ibikunle Amosun announced reductions in school fees in the 10 state-owned tertiary institutions, starting from the 2014-2015 academic session. But students of OOU kicked against this, insisting that the reduction must take effect from the 2013/2014 academic session, while also declaring that the fees should be further slashed.

At the protest, the students accused the governor of playing politics with the issue and cast doubts on the move. However, Amosun laughed it off and set up an ad-hoc panel to look into the issues raised within one week.

In its statement on Saturday, the government claimed that, “The student leaders were within the week sending text messages round, urging their colleagues ‘to get ready for action’ as they are ready to unleash violence on the State capital. Security reports have since confirmed that because the students are acting under external influence, no concession made by the government will be satisfactory to them.”

“Consequently, we have no option than to order the immediate closure of all the campuses of Olabisi Onabanjo University to protect the students and other residents of the State and their property,” Adeoluwa explained in the press statement.

“We urge all parents to impress on their wards, the need to maintain peace in the interest of all,” he said.

It was learnt that the state government explained to the students that the reduction could not be implemented in the 2013-2014 session because it would cost about N2 billion to make it a reality. This, Aproko247 gathered, did not impress the students who maintained their ground.