The Students’ Union Government of the Obafemi Awolowo University (OAU), Ile-Ife, has asked Remita, an online payment platform, and Nigerian banks to reject school fee payments made by the students of the institution.

The student body’s request was part of its effort to protest against the hike in school fees recently determined by the school’s management.

On Thursday, the students of the university under the leadership of the Student Union held a congress meeting at Aluta Square on the campus to deliberate on an approach to reverse the fees increment.

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One of their resolutions, according to a letter with reference number GREATIFESU/2223/034, was that all payment platforms being used by the institution to accept school fees from its students should ignore such payment until the school backs down on the new fees.

Their meeting produced the following resolutions, “That the management should make it a point of duty to reverse the increment on school fees.

“That the leadership of the union with immediate effect call for a press conference to keep the public and the generality of Great Ife students abreast of all the happenings in the university community, and the position of the students populace.

“That all financial institutions, Remita especially, ignore and suspend any payment from OAU pending the time the Union will write to them. If otherwise, their branches in Ife and OAU campus will be shutdown.

“That the congress agreed that the university management be given 5 days ultimatum to engage the leadership of the Union after which, we will hit the street and shut down activities on campus if the ultimatum isn’t met.”

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Following the congress, the student leadership wrote to specific financial institutions responsible for accepting and processing school fee payments on behalf of the federal tertiary institution.

The banks copied in the press statement were Access Bank, Diamond Bank, Ecobank, First City Monument Bank, First Bank and Fidelity Bank.

Others were Guaranty Trust Bank, Polaris Bank, Union Bank, Wema Bank, Zenith Bank as well as the United Bank for Africa.

Speaking with FIJ on the development, Akinboni Opeyemi, Student Union’s Secretary, stated that their resolutions were purposed to serve as a pre-protest notice to the affected financial institutions.

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The secretary noted that the congress was attended by a massive number of students and it was agreed that their resolution be communicated to Remita.

What happens if the students approach the banks to pay their school fees? FIJ asked Opeyemi.

He said, “Thousands of students attended our congress yesterday and everyone agreed that no student should pay his or her school fees until we are properly engaged by the management to reverse the fees to the previous regime. We are just using the press statement to warm up the banks before it gets to the stage of public protest.”