Parents and guardians of some students who recently graduated from the Landmark University, Omu-Aran, Kwara State have accused the management of the institution of withholding the National Youth Service Corps Scheme call up letters of their children over their absence in a prayer session held to bid them farewell from the institution.
According to one of the parents, who sent a text message to the newsmen, about 200 students were affected. The parent alleged that the students were absent when the Chancellor of the university, Bishop David Oyedepo, came to pray for them.
The text message read, “Sir, this issue may not be your business, but, I feel as an affairs analyst, you can add your voice to 200 families who are in pain. Our wards graduated from Landmark University, Omu-Aran, owned by Bishop Oyedepo.
“About 200 graduands were absent when Bishop David Oyedepo came to pray over them and he then instructed that their NYSC call-up letters be withheld.
“Delegates and letters of appeal have been sent with no response until yesterday, when I heard that call-up letters will be released in August 2022.
“It means our children will stay at home with us after graduation till August. This is rather draconian and height of impunity.”
When contacted, spokesman for Landmark University, Mr Joseph Olajide, told 9news Nigeria that affected students are faceless as far as he was concerned, because he didn’t know those who actually protested. Olajide, who said he did not want to be drawn into the issue of whether students were sanctioned or not for missing a prayer programme, explained that the parents ought to bring their grievances to the school instead of approaching the media.
When asked whether there was indeed a prayer programme which the students didn’t attend and which was responsible for their call-up letters being withheld, he said,”I don’t want to be drawn into that controversy.”
He added, “All that I know is that they came here for admission for their wards and we granted them, so we expect that if there is any issue about their wards, they should come to the school, and we will look for ways out of the problem and definitely not the media.”
Olajide also said that the students were being mobilized in batches for the NYSC programme and that those who haven’t been so mobilized have one issue or the other with the university.
“As long as our students don’t have any issue, there is no reason not to mobilize them for NYSC. We are doing it in batches,” he said.
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