The federal government has planned a delegation to intervene in the deportation order issued against some Nigerian university students by the home office due to tuition payment challenges occasioned by the Naira fluctuations.
The delegation to be led by a representative of the Nigerian Embassy in the United Kingdom (UK), Christian Okeke, and leaders of the Nigerian Students’ Union in UK is expected to meet with the management of Teesside University to seek resolution.
The decision was made following a virtual meeting attended by Abike Dabiri-Erewa, Chairman/CEO of NIDCOM, Okeke, Mr. Yemi Soile, President of the Nigerian Students Union UK, and affected students.
During the meeting, NIDCOM Chairman appealed to the students to stay calm and avoid taking matters into their own hands, while urging the University to ensure fairness and justice for the students.
NiDCOM spokesperson Abdur-Rahman Balogun confirmed the planned intervention in a statement on Wednesday.
Last week, Nigerian students at Teesside University protested against the suspension of their programmes and the directive for them to leave the United Kingdom following a payment crisis due to the naira fluctuations.
The students’ financial problems worsened when Teesside university changed its tuition fee arrangement from seven instalments to three.
During the virtual meeting on Zoom, the affected students narrated their ordeal and were hopeful of a positive outcome from the planned delegation as they risk deportation following the school’s verdict.
Abike-Dabiri appealed to the students to remain calm and not to take laws into their own hands, assuring them of a resolution.
In the short video recording of the meeting made public, she said, “I’m sending a delegation from the Nigerian government. They’ll also tell us why they are doing what they’re doing. We’re not saying you’re not going to pay, but we’re saying [they] cannot destroy or disrupt your studies in the middle.”
The story of the Teesside students would be one of many, inevitably affected by the devaluation of the naira and the UK cut university funding.