Fuel subsidy: Unilorin reels out palliatives for students, staff

The administration of the University of Ilorin in Kwara State has used luxury buses to transport students and employees to the main campus.

As a result of the Federal Government of Nigeria’s elimination of fuel subsidies, this is an effort to mitigate the negative impacts of the high cost of transportation.

The institution’s Vice Chancellor, Prof. Wahab Olasupo Egbewole, SAN, announced the palliative measure, which is in addition to earlier ones, at the conclusion of the 296th Meeting of the institution’s Senate on Tuesday, according to a statement by the institution’s Director of Corporate Affairs, Mr. Kunle Akogun, in Ilorin on Wednesday.

Egbewole stated that the deployment of the buses was in continuation of the earlier provision of highly subsidized transportation in which two buses were put on the road in June for a fare of N100 per drop. She also expressed management’s deep concern over the adverse effect of the exorbitant transportation cost on members of the University community.

The Vice-Chancellor noted that the university administration made the decision to add a second bus to the route and make all three buses free for employees and students after seeing how expensive transportation was becoming.

The three buses would be parked at Tipper Garage, Tanke’s University Bus Terminus between 6:30 and 7:00 am every day, departing for the university at 7:15 am.

Likewise, the buses would leave the Fountain Roundabout, adjacent to the Senate Building, at 3:00 pm and 4:00 pm every day for the return trip when work or lessons were over.

The Vice-Chancellor said that the University administration had stepped up discussions with the State government and commercial commuter bus companies on how they might help the University to ease the mobility difficulties that employees and students were experiencing.

He noted that three vehicles had been released for the University’s route as a result of negotiations with the State government, but added that the private commuter bus companies operating on the University route had agreed not to charge excessive fees.

Additionally, Egbewole announced that the University management will offer free data to all academic staff in order to enable the smooth execution of the virtual lectures project already in place.

“The virtual lecture initiative was instituted to reduce the number of times lecturers and their students would have to come to school,” the statement added.

The Vice Chancellor clarified, however, that once the University Governing Council is in place, the management will develop further palliative measures to further mitigate the impact of the elimination of the fuel subsidy.

He asserts that other measures like financial palliatives are outside the management’s purview since the Governing Council must first authorize them.

Egbewole thanked the staff and students for their patience and urged them to keep working with the university administration to maintain the peace that now exists on campus and in the surrounding neighborhoods.