The University of Abuja (UniAbuja) has refuted claims that it is extorting graduating students by making them pay illegal fees before registering for the National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) program.
The allegations recently surfaced on social media accusing the university of forcing students to pay undisclosed clearance charges before being enrolled into the NYSC scheme.
However, UniAbuja spokesperson Habib Yakoob dismissed the reports as “baseless” in a statement on Wednesday.
He stated that the fees being referred to are legitimate charges for students whose names are not on the official list of candidates accepted through UTME and Direct Entry.
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“There is nothing illegal about the fees and the University is very clear on this. The students whose names are not on the accepted UTME and Direct Entry JAMB list must pay such a fee,” Yakoob clarified.
According to him, the verification unit in charge of student clearance has the needed records and simply ensures that students who skipped the payments initially are made to remit it before leaving the university.
Yakoob revealed that over 80% of affected graduands have already paid the charges, while about 15% are still expected to pay soon.
He noted that the allegations were likely sponsored by some students trying to avoid paying the mandatory fees thereby shortchanging the institution.
The NYSC scheme is compulsory for Nigerian graduates of tertiary institutions before they can be fully certified and deployed for national service.
