Lack Of Hostel Facilities: AKSU Students Send SOS To A’Ibom Govt

By Love Effah, Blessing Ebitu, Ifiokobong Ekanem, Precious Abai, Stella Sam, Gabriel Eyo
ORUK ANAM
Students of Akwa Ibom State University, Obio Akpa Campus have appealed to the Akwa Ibom State government to construct hostel facilities in the campus.
    The students of the school who spoke with The Pioneer during a visit to the campus recently said hostel facilities within the school campus will help reduce the hardship which the students are facing presently.
   Miss Sarah Ubong, a 400 Level Mass Communication student who lives off campus said “Where I live is about 20 minutes drive from school and I spend a fortune on transportation everyday. Sometimes I have to choose between paying transport or buying food”, she stated.
   She appealed to the state government to come to the aid of the students by constructing a hostel facility to help the accommodation problem faced by students of the school.
   Miss Emem Mojima, a 300 Level Mass Communication student posited that students most times receive assault and embarrassment from some landlords due to lateness in rent paying.
   Mojima maintained that it would be a thing of joy for the students if hostel facilities are constructed in the campus to address ongoing accommodation challenges faced by the students.
   Abasiekeme Sunday in her view stated that “If there was hostel accommodation in the school I won’t have been paying N180,000 per annum for accommodation”.
   Miss Deborah who described hostel accommodation as a basic necessity, added that most houses within the community are without perimeter fences, thereby making the students vulnerable to incessant attack by hoodlums within the community.
   “My former lodge was recently raided by hoodlums during holidays and lots of valuables carted away by unknown persons within the community”.
   She urged the state government to come to the rescue of students by building befitting hostel facilities within the school community.
   Also speaking, Queen Ben, 400 Level History Department, Angela Patrick, 200 Level English Department, Itohowo Samuel 100 Level Political Science and Aniekpeno Umoren 300 Level English Department lauded the state government for establishing the Akwa Ibom State University, stressing that the institution has greatly enhanced academic excellence in the state.
   They however lamented that the non availability of hostel facilities in the school was making life unbearable for the students.
   “The cost of living in Obio Akpa, especially within the university environs is very high. If there was a hostel in the school the expenses would reduce because instead of our parents to pay N180,000 for just rent we would have used the money to buy textbooks and other educational materials”.
   “We are using this medium to appeal to Akwa Ibom State government to come to our aid by providing us with hostel facilities in AKSU”, they stated.