Pan-African Socialist Movement, a pressure group, has urged President Muhammadu Buhari to call retrogressive All Progressives Congress governors, who inflated tertiary institution tuition fees, to order.
The President of PSM in Nigeria, Bestman Okereafor, made the appeal in a statement on Thursday in Enugu.
Okereafor said some APC governors were planning to increase tuition fees even as the Ondo State Government had already gone ahead to take decisions on increase in tuition fees across board in the state-owned institutions.
“The attention of the leadership of PSM has been drawn to the decision of Governor Rotimi Akeredolu to increase school fees in Adekunle Ajasin University Akure from N33,000 to N150,000, and Rufus Giwa Polytechnic from N63,000 to N108,000.
“Ondo State University of Science and Technology from N70,000 to N150,000; stoppage of WAEC fees payment for secondary school students; stopped free transportation for secondary school students as well as leaving University of Medical Sciences and School of Nursing unattended to.
“With the above reasons, PSM is passionately appealing to President Buhari to as a matter of urgency, call Governor Akeredolu to order, as he is already behaving as a `retrogressive progressive.’’
The PSM official said that the group has given Akeredolu 72-hour to retract his uncomplimentary statement made against students and students’ bodies that had complained over his latest decision.
He said: “We consider this as un-progressive minded action and stance because it is a known fact that the said governor and others were beneficiaries of the once available free education in Nigeria.’’
He noted that the group was, however, sending a strict note of warning to other governors planning to emulate the Ondo state government by increasing school fees to shun such thoughts as it would be vehemently resisted by PSM and student bodies in the country.
He said: “PSM will be joining the National Association of Nigerian Students in the struggle in Ondo state by also relocating our Nigerian secretariat to Ondo state if Governor Akeredolu increment decision is not reversed in the next 72 hours.
“As progressives, it is unfortunate that this is happening in a progressive controlled state.”
The News Agency of Nigeria recalls that the Ondo State Government on April 11 reacted to the continued resistance by students and other stakeholders to the increase in the tuition of Adekunle Ajasin University, Akungba Akoko, as unwarranted.
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