The University of Jos is in urgent need of help after being cut off from the public electricity supply. The Vice Chancellor, Prof. Tanko Ishaya, has appealed to the House of Representatives Committee on University Education to step in and address the issue.
During a recent visit by the committee, led by Chairman Abubakar Hassan Fulata, Prof. Ishaya explained that the university has been in darkness for over a month. This situation arose due to a significant hike in electricity tariffs. The university was placed in Band A for electricity consumers, which caused their monthly bill to jump from about N20 million to N25 million to nearly N80 million.
Prof. Ishaya requested that the university be removed from Band A, as they were already struggling to pay the original bill. The new tariff is simply too high for the university to manage.
Chairman Fulata assured that the committee is dedicated to improving the standard of education and will do everything possible to help. He mentioned that the committee is also reviewing how the university has used its federal allocations and internally generated revenue to ensure proper use according to the Appropriation Act.