University of Abuja shut down

Abuja - The University of Abuja has been ordered shut down by its authorities following students’ unrest. Students of University of Abuja on Monday protested the failure of the university management to meet up with the six months period given it to accredit some of its courses. The courses are engineering, medicine and veterinary medicine. Some of the protesting students, who spoke to the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Gwagwalada, blamed the university management for the delay in the accreditation process. The protesters, who are mainly students of engineering, claimed that other faculties were ahead of the Engineering Faculty in the accreditation process. A 400-level male engineering student, who pleaded anonymity, said that the protest followed the failure of the Vice Chancellor, Prof. James Adelabu, to keep his word over the accreditation of some faculties. ``It will be wrong for the university management to say that the students are not patient enough, considering the fact that the promise was given since April by the vice chancellor. ``As I speak to you, there are no equipment in our laboratory and the facilities are not enough to even invite the relevant authorities to commence the accreditation process,” he said. He said the patience of the students had run thin considering the implication of the actions of the university management on the future of the students. A 300-level female student called on the university management to expedite action to ensure that the faculties, particularly engineering, were accredited as promised by the vice chancellor. She said the delay in the accreditation process was not in the interest of the students. In his reaction, Mr Waziri Garba, the Information Officer of the university, said efforts were being intensified by the university management to ensure the accreditation of all the faculties as promised by the vice Chancellor. He said the accreditation of the Faculty of Engineering was capital intensive, adding that the protest followed a claim by the students that other faculties were ahead of engineering. According to him, the process of inviting the Nigerian Universities Commission (NUC) for resource verification had been concluded and the commission was being awaited for the exercise. The information officer, who confirmed that examinations could not hold in the university following the protest, dismissed reports that the university had been closed down. ``It is true that the students could not write their examinations today following the protest but as I speak to you, there is no official statement on the closure of the university,” he said. Garba appealed to the students to be calm, saying efforts were being made to facilitate the accreditation of the faculties. NAN Source http://nigeria.news24.com