The Zamfara State Commissioner for Education, Science, and Technology, Wadatau Madawaki, raised the issue in a press conference in Abuja on Tuesday, revealing the hardships the students face as a result of debts and administrative oversights.
About 93 Zamfara State students on scholarships at the Cyprus International University are currently stranded and unable to continue their education due to unpaid tuition, accommodation, and feeding allowances.
The Zamfara State Commissioner for Education, Science, and Technology, Wadatau Madawaki, raised the issue in a press conference in Abuja on Tuesday, revealing the hardships the students face as a result of debts and administrative oversights.
“These students were simply left at the ‘mercy’ of the university authorities by unpatriotic elements who cashed in on the poor arrangement to make fast money,” Madawaki said.
He noted that five of the 93 students had left the university, leaving 88 who remain stranded and unable to attend lectures for nearly a year.
The commissioner attributed the students’ plight to the previous administration led by Bello Matawalle, now Minister of State for Defence, stating that Matawalle’s government failed to fulfil its promises to pay the fees in full.
Madawaki remarked, “The main reason for the convocation of this conference is to put the records straight and disabuse the minds of the general public, especially the parents of those students sent to study at the Cyprus International University by the previous administration in 2020.”
According to Madawaki, the current administration, under Governor Dauda Lawal, has made efforts to address the issue, including payments totalling N84.7million and N30.9million towards tuition and accommodation expenses.
However, the commissioner said the lack of formal agreements between the previous administration and the university left students vulnerable to mismanagement.
“With the current state of things, the present administration of Governor Dauda Lawal should be commended for sorting out the embarrassment caused by the administration of Governor Matawalle,” Madawaki added, highlighting that steps are being taken to provide one year’s accommodation fees, six months’ feeding allowance, and renewal of passports and resident permits.
"From the year 2022, the previous administration of Governor Bello Matawalle abdicated from its responsibilities of funding the students’ studies at the Cyprus International University as tuition fees, accommodation and feeding allowances were not paid to the university authorities thereby exposing the students to hardships and difficult conditions.
"That by extension caused the accumulation of huge debt by the previous administration which continued up to the end of its life span Monday, May 29th 2023. It is on the unfortunate lack of legal and binding agreement between the previous administration and the university authority that exposed the students to unwanted and unwarranted bad treatment by the university, since there was no signed document that outlined responsibilities of each party with regards to the students stay in the University.
"They were simply left at the “mercy” of the university authorities by unpatriotic elements who cashed in on the poor arrangement to make fast money. Five (5) out of the ninety three (93)students left the university remaining eighty eight (88).
"After the inception of the present administration of Governor Dauda Lawal, his attention was drawn to the difficult situation being faced by the students in Cyprus. His Excellency Dauda Lawal quickly swung into action and directed the Secretary to the State Government (SSG) to engage with the university and find out what was the burden of debt being owed by the State Government.
"The Secretary to the state government arranged zoom meeting with the university authorities and it was at that point the rot manifested itself as the university presented an outrageous debt profile owed by the government. What was made glaringly clear from that meeting was that:
The university authority presented a debt of tuition fees being owed by the government even when they knew they had stopped the students from attending lectures for almost one year (1).
"It should be noted that process has reached advanced stage for the payment of the following; one year accommodation fees, six months feeding allowance, renewal of the students' expired passports."