IGBEGA LASUSU: ARE LASUITES STILL THE PRIORITY OF THE 36TH ADMINISTRATION?

The 36th administration of the Lagos State University Students’ Union (LASUSU), popularly known as “Igbega LASUSU,” has hardly enjoyed a convincing streak of service delivery since its inauguration. Beyond the slogans and public appearances, the administration has struggled to adequately represent and communicate with LASUites at crucial moments.

While some may argue that the responsibility of disseminating timely and accurate information lies solely with the Public Relations Officer of the union, Comr. Akano Abdulmalik, popularly known as 5Star, a careful assessment of the administration suggests otherwise. The issue clearly extends beyond one office and reflects a deeper dysfunction within the entire Students’ Executive Council (SEC).

Refreshing your memory, LASU Conscience published an editorial on December 3, 2025, calling out the same administration over its silence regarding issues affecting students, including the Ilera-Eko health insurance fee, library development fee, and other financial burdens placed on LASUites.

Interestingly, it was only after that publication and the collective outcry from students that the union’s PRO suddenly remembered the existence of the union’s broadcast channels after spending months in office. The pressure eventually forced the Students’ Union to react and provide some form of response.

Unfortunately, with the current realities facing students, it has once again become necessary to remind the 36th administration that adopting a self-induced slumber in a difficult economy only adds salt to the injuries students are already battling with.

Below are some of the pressing concerns currently affecting LASUites, issues the union has either treated with silence or responded to with alarming sluggishness.

The One-Week Deadline for Course Registration and School Fees Payment

For several weeks, many LASUites remained confused about when the school fees and course registration portals would finally be reopened. Questions flooded classrooms, group chats, and departmental spaces, yet students received little to no clear communication from those elected to represent them.

Even lecturers were reportedly uncertain about the number of students expected to register for courses, making it difficult to determine whether examinations would be Computer-Based Tests (CBT) or written examinations.

Amid the uncertainty, the university management announced on Tuesday, May 14, an extension of the academic calendar by one week, with second semester examinations scheduled to commence on June 1, 2026. Rather than easing concerns, the announcement intensified anxiety among students, especially as there was still no indication that the necessary portals would be opened.

Further compounding the issue, on Tuesday, May 19, 2026, the university management eventually reopened the course registration and school fees payment portals, with a deadline fixed for Saturday, May 30.

In simple terms, students were expected to magically produce outstanding school fees balances and complete course registration within barely one week, in an economy that already leaves many families gasping for breath before month-end. Ironically, even after the announcement, the course registration portal reportedly remained under maintenance for days.

Yet, despite the urgency of the situation, the Students’ Union, and the PRO have remained comfortably absent. As of the time of writing, many students still rely more on unofficial updates and screenshots circulating online than on information from their own union representatives.

At this point, one begins to wonder whether the union’s broadcast platforms are simply for elections updates, advertisements, and events graphics.

NELFUND Issues

Complaints surrounding the NELFUND student loan scheme have become increasingly rampant among LASU students. A closer look reveals several unresolved issues affecting beneficiaries, ranging from incomplete disbursement of school fees to outright non-disbursement and unpaid upkeep allowances.

Despite the growing complaints, the last major update from the union’s PRO came on April 7, when he announced that: “The disbursement of the NELFUND loan to students has officially commenced.”Students were further advised to check their portals and bank accounts, as payments were supposedly being processed in batches.

However, since that announcement, complaints have continued to pour in. Some students claim that although their NELFUND portals indicate successful payment, the funds have not reflected on their LASU school fees portals. Others insist they have received nothing at all.

Sadly, while students continue to battle uncertainty and confusion, the union’s response has remained painfully predictable: incessant silence with a lack of willingness to address any issue or act on it.

Final Year Students: Ethical Clearance and Plagiarism Checker Burden

Final year students currently appear to be carrying perhaps the heaviest burden of all. The introduction of compulsory plagiarism checks and ethical clearance processes by the university management has sparked widespread frustration, largely because of the financial implications and stressful procedures attached to them.

From findings gathered, some students may spend as much as ₦5,000 on a single project chapter due to plagiarism checking requirements alone. Ethical clearance reportedly costs ₦10,000, excluding additional cybercafé charges and miscellaneous expenses incurred during the process.

But beyond the fees lies an even more exhausting reality: the process. Students are expected to move from office to office, obtain letters from Heads of Department, visit the Senate Building repeatedly, make corrections, reprint chapters after supervisors’ comments, and continue the cycle multiple times until it is accepted.

After all of this, they still have to produce additional hard copies for final submission before proceeding with plagiarism checks and ethical clearance. For many students, graduating now feels like a hard mountain to climb.

Even with this, final year students are still expected to rush through their clearance process which definitely involves money, sit for exams, and graduate in August together with the previous set. But here again, there’s no voice to express the pain of the students. The question here is: WHAT IS THE END GOAL OF THIS? Are students still the priority or just spectators in this chess game? The spirit of Aluta is truly dead in LASU!

Does LASUSU Remember That the Administration Is Still in Office?

At this point, repeatedly questioning the whereabouts of the “Igbega LASUSU” administration may sound cliché. However, the silence surrounding these pressing concerns leaves students with very few alternatives.

If this is not gross incompetence, then it increasingly resembles an administration that has become too comfortable dancing to the rhythm of management while students struggle in the background.

The signs are difficult to ignore. Is the union genuinely unaware of these issues? Are its executives no longer students themselves? Or has the idea of “representation” been reduced to election-season rhetoric and studio-quality graphics? These are questions students are now left to answer for themselves.

What makes the situation even more frustrating is that, as a media organization, we have repeatedly reached out to the union’s PRO both physically and online. Yet, the response remains the same familiar chorus: “We are aware and will address it soon.”

At some point, “soon” begins to sound like a political timezone where accountability never arrives. How does the university reopen critical portals, issue a one-week deadline, and still leave students relying on rumors and forwarded messages because their union failed to communicate effectively?

In a harsh economy where many parents survive from salary to salary, expecting students to suddenly raise outstanding fees before May 30 without substantial engagement or advocacy from the union is deeply insensitive.

Many affected students are still battling unresolved NELFUND issues, yet they are simultaneously expected to clear balances and complete registration almost immediately.

At this juncture, we demand the Students’ Union to rise beyond performative leadership and address these issues with urgency, empathy, and responsibility. Public office—whether within a university or beyond it—is not sustained by slogans alone. Students deserve visible representation, proactive communication, and leaders who understand that silence, especially in difficult times, can be just as damaging as inaction itself.