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……No New Levies On State-Owned Institutions ~ Govt
By Joel Anekwe
The Rivers State chapter of the All Progressives Congress (APC) has alleged plans by Governor Chief Nyesom Wike to levy students of all tertiary institutions in the state various sums of money through the heads of such institutions, to support his 2019 campaign.
State Chairman of the party, Ojukaye Flag-Amachree said the party uncovered the plot through a circular by the school authorities requesting students of the institution to pay a dubious entrepreneurship training levy of N20, 000 each student.
According to a statement released in Port Harcourt Tuesday by the state publicity secretary of the party, Chris Finebone the scheme has already been commenced by the Ignatius Ajuru University of Education (IAUE), Rumuolumeni
The APC alleged: “The collection of this fee of N20, 000 is part of a grand design by Gov. Wike to use the heads of tertiary institutions in Rivers State to raise funds through sundry levies to support the governor’s 2019 campaigns. Already, students of IAUE have been served a circular to that effect.
“The plan includes levying each student to submit their typed projects with a payment of N20, 000 each for the binding of such projects. You can imagine how callous this governor can be,” Ojukaye declared.
Speaking further, the APC state chairman wondered why the governor should compound the problems of students and their parents in Rivers State at a time families are going through rough time to survive.
“In most other states in Nigeria, governors are alleviating the burden on students and their parents through scholarships and bursaries but here in Rivers State Gov. Wike is heartlessly inflicting pains and anguish on students and their parents.
“It is disheartening how we got to this sorry pass. Elsewhere, caring governors in many states are paying students bursaries and awarding scholarships just to lessen the burden on students and their parents. But here, Gov. Wike withdrew young men and women the previous administration placed on foreign scholarships and now he is levying students in local institutions in the State to raise money for his 2019 political campaigns. This is wickedness at its highest level.
“Most saddening is that this whole thing is happening at a time the Economic & Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) has uncovered fraudulent withdrawals of over N117bn of our money by Gov. Nyesom Wike since he assumed office in 2015 with no explanation or purpose,” Ojukaye revealed.
The APC state chairman called on students and parents to resist the various suspect levies the various tertiary institutions are demanding from them as such spurious levies are meant to fund the insatiable lust for money by Gov. Wike.
“Let me appeal to our students and their parents not to succumb to the fraudulent levies Wike is using heads of tertiary institutions to request from students. Students and parents should vehemently reject the levies; they should refuse to pay those illegal levies as they are only mean to fund Wike’s 2019 campaigns,” Ojukaye urged.
But in a swift reaction Rivers State Commissioner of Education, Tamunosisi Gogo-Jaja stated that the state government is not introducing any levies in any of the state-owned schools.
He said an interview on Tuesday that since Governor Wike took over the leadership of the state, the state government has not introduced new levies.
He described as false, rumours that new levies have been introduced by the Wike administration in tertiary institutions.
“Since this administration came on board, we haven’t introduced any new levies in any of our schools, not just the tertiary institutions.
