Examinations for final year students of the University of Abuja which should have begun Monday were postponed by management owing to agitations by protesting students over problems of accreditation.
As early as 5:00am yesterday morning, Engineering and Medical students were at loggerheads with the varsity leadership over non-accreditation of their programmes had locked the varsity's gate at the main campus.
Daily Trust observed students who had come to sit for the examinations, loitered outside in groups and heavy presence of mobile police and soldiers.
Chinedu Okolo, an Engineering student said management had "done nothing" in the last two months to purchase equipment in the faculty and they have had enough promises without action.
Okolo said, "It is obvious the university is not willing to help us but we are going to compel them by whatever means possible."
Uchenna Anyanwu, President of the Medical Students Association, said the management is reluctant in making efforts even after the students protest. He said their stance now is "no accreditation, no exams."
Some of the students who spoke to Daily Trust said they identified with the protesting students and they needed a leverage to gain the attention of the management.
But Victoria Modupe a Computer Science student said, "I want to graduate and go for service. They should understand our own predicament too."
Deputy Registrar of Information Waziri Garba said management met with leaders of students associations who requested for students to be in the hostels one week before the examination.
Waziri said management presented the matter to an emergency senate session which held yesterday and it was approved that examinations be postponed for one week, to start on February 18.
But a source who attended the senate meeting said the senate could not deliberate on the proposition of management to postpone the examinations due to heavy presence of armed policemen in the senate chamber.
Some members of senate walked out of the meeting protesting the presence of the armed security officials and a decision could not be reached on the matter.
