By Ojomah Austin.

The proposed meeting between the Federal Government and the Academic Staff Union of Universities initially scheduled for Monday (today), has been postponed.

Although no reason was given for the postponement, the meeting and us now expected to take place on Wednesday, August 28.

According to Channels Television on Monday, the ASUU President, Emmanuel Osodeke, confirmed that the meeting which was previously announced by the Minister of Education on Friday will no longer hold.

Public university lecturers, following resolutions reached at the union’s national executive council meeting held at the University of Ibadan on August 19, 2024, threatened to go on a nationwide strike over the Federal Government’s failure to honour the 2009 renegotiated agreement.

ASUU’s demands include improvements in welfare, university funding, and halting the proliferation of universities across the country.

By Francesca Hangeior.

The Registrar of Wigwe University, Ms. Ulonna Inyama, has died under mysterious circumstances in Abuja, sparking concerns about medical negligence and hospital safety.

According to a family source, Ms. Inyama died due to complications from fibroid surgery and a wrong blood transfusion.

The source revealed that she was initially admitted to a hospital in Abuja for fibroid treatment but suffered a fatal reaction after receiving the wrong blood type.

“She died of loss of blood due to fibroid complications under mysterious circumstances. We were told that wrong blood transfusion led to her death.

“When her condition worsened due to complications, she was referred to another hospital, where she passed on,” the source told Vanguard on Monday in Abuja.

The incident has raised questions about the quality of medical care and safety protocols in Nigerian hospitals. The family has demanded an investigation into the circumstances surrounding Ms. Inyama’s death.

Ms. Inyama’s death comes just months after the tragic loss of Wigwe University’s founder, Herbert Wigwe, who died in a helicopter crash in California, USA, along with his wife and son.

The university community is still reeling from the loss of its founder and now faces another devastating blow with the loss of its Registrar.

By Francesca Hangeior.

Foreign scholars under the Federal Government’s Bilateral Educational Agreement Scholarship, on Wednesday, lamented the sudden deduction in allowances by the Federal Scholarship Board.

Some of the affected scholars and parents who spoke to our correspondent in Abuja lamented the government’s decision.

The scholars noted that the government had failed to release their allowances for over 13 months, leaving them to source for their means of survival in foreign countries.

The BEA scholarship is for the purpose of education exchange between Nigeria and the partnering countries.

The Federal Scholarship Board is supervising the scholarship under the Federal Ministry of Education.

The Ministry of Education had announced a slash in allowances for foreign scholars who are currently stranded in Russia, Morocco, and Algeria, among others.

The ministry attributed the development to economic crises.

The government’s decision to slash the scholars’ allowances was contained in a memo signed by the Director of the Federal Scholarship Board, Ndajiwo H.A., on behalf of the Minister of Education, Prof. Tahir Mamman.

“After due consultations, the Federal Scholarship Board has come up with adjustments in line with budgetary provisions in the payment of BEA scholar’s supplementation allowances for the 2024 academic year,” the memo, dated July 23, 2024, and addressed to the scholars’ association, read.

Speaking with our correspondent, one of the affected scholars, Ronald Donald, said “Firstly, students have stayed 13 months without stipends, just promises upon promises. Now, the only thing the FSB could come up with is to reduce the stipends. Let me give you an idea of how living in Russia and Morocco looks like;

“In Russia, a student needs a minimum of $300 to survive. The bus fares are expensive, and the hostel prices are up. Bread used to be sold for 70 rubbles is now 120 rubbles. In Morocco, the students don’t have hostels provided for them. As such, they rent apartments (at a starting price of $200 a month).”

Speaking on how some of the stranded scholars are surving, Donald said, “Normally, the embassy in Russia gives out loans to students in difficulty. They take the money back when FSB pays.”

Another student who spoke with our correspondent on condition of anonymity for fear of victimisation noted that some of the students had taken loans to finance their studies.

He said, “We were under the agreement to be paid $500 per month and we have not been paid since June 2023 which has resulted in students engaging in exploitative illegal labour such as washing plates, and construction. I personally have worked in a soap warehouse and restaurant for 12 and 14 hours at a stretch respectively with reduced pay against the agreement and host country’s visa.

“A few months ago after several agitations and representations by our parents, our parents were encouraged by the FG to take loans to the tune of millions because of the exchange rate and the rising cost of living in our host counties to send to us for our survival with the promise that the situation will be sorted out and our stipends would be paid suddenly yesterday they released a memo slashing our stipends by 56%. How are we to pay back the loans or even survive ?”

Speaking further, the student revealed that some students took loans from loan sharks.

“Yes, several students took loans from even loan sharks because no one in this economy would loan millions to a student that doesn’t have a definite payback period or collateral,” he said.

Also speaking, a parent who spoke on condition of anonymity while giving the breakdown said, “Each student now gets $3090 (2640 + 450) instead of the $6450. It’s only the medical students who get an extra 500 to make theirs $3590.

“So (500×12)+ 250 + 200 + (500) = $6450 and $6950 (for non-medical and medical students respectively) slashed to (220×12)+ 250 + 200 + (500)= $3090 and $3590 (for non-medical and medical students respectively).

“Seeing that only supplementation was touched (others that concern us are still constant), that’s a 56% decrease.”