PETITION FOR INVESTIGATION INTO THE
ENDEMIC OFFICIAL CORRUPTION,
EXTORTION AND MISAPPROPRIATION AT
THE NATIONAL OPEN UNIVERSITY OF
NIGERIA, LAGOS.

The Congress of NOUN Students have
uncovered corruption on a grand
scale, amounting to over N20,000,000,000.00
(Twenty Billion Naira) and
other fraudulent practices by the management
of National Open
University of Nigeria on a yearly basis.
We requests that you investigate and confirm
these crimes which in
effect are complaints of fraudulent practices
and commission of
financial crimes of which your Commission is
statutorily empowered to
investigate and prosecute under the provisions
of the EFCC Act, 2006.
As students of the University who struggle
hard and suffered to pay
these fees to the management, we ought to
know exactly why students
continue to pay these fees without getting the
materials and services
paid for.
The following are the facts to be considered
for investigation:
1. REGISTRATION FEE: The National Open
University of Nigeria (NOUN)
has over Three Hundred And Fifty Thousand
(350,000) Students. Also,
according to the official payment schedule of
the institution, the
University charges Twenty Eight Thousand
Naira (N28,000) as session
registration fee and Thirteen Thousand Naira
(N13,000) as semester
registration fee. In sum, each student of the
University pay Fourty
One Thousand Naira (N41,000) as registration
fee every year.
If we multiply N41,000 registration fee by
350,000 students every
year, the University generates from registration
of students alone,
the sum of N14,350,000,000.00 (Fourteen
Billion, Three Hundred and
Fifty Million Naira)
2. COURSE MATERIAL FEE: Apart from the
registration fee paid by
students, each students pay seperate fee for
course materials. The
University gets paid for course materials, but it
never provides these
materials.
Prices for each material depend on the credit
units of the course. At
the moment, a two credit unit course material
is N2,000, however slim
the material may be, whilst a three credit unit
course is charged at
N2,500 and 4 credit Unit is N3000.
In each semester, students are expected to
register between 7 – 10
courses, but let us assume students register 8
courses and in an
average, each course registered by students
cost N2500.
If each students register 8 courses for N2500,
that amount to N20,000
per student. So, if 350,000 students of the
University pay the sum of
N20,000.00 each as course material fee, that
amount to the total sum
of N7, 000, 000, 000.00. (Seven Billion Million
Naira) in just one
semester. The students also pay the same
amount as course materials
fee in their second semester.
This takes the total amount of fees, paid by
students for course
material in a year to N14, 000, 000, 000,00
(Fourteen Billion Naira)
(Please note: These are compulsory fees, paid
by every student)
One of the major reasons given by the
management for this separate fee
for course registration is that, with the fees,
students would be
given a course material that would be used for
the study. Each course
has a specially designed course material by
the University.
However, after paying all these fees to register
courses, very few
course materials are printed by the
management,over 80% of the
students never gets these materials.
After receiving payment for course materials
from students across
Study Centres nationwide, the University may
issue one, two, or zero
course materials. Thereupon, the University
advises students, without
compunction, to get these materials in
whatever way they deem fit. At
this point, students are solely on their own to
hunt for additional
money in order to re-purchase these materials
elsewhere. The
University is unconcerned about what
becomes of students who are
unable to get materials afterwards. Such is the
immensity of the
insensitivity being inflicted on a people whose
only offence is their
decision to seek knowledge.
Please note: The management may claim that
providing the soft copy is
equivalent to providing the materials paid for,
but that is not
correct. The soft copies are not meant for
students alone. Any
individual, whether student or none student of
the University can
visit the institutions website and access the
softcopies. Soft copies
are free for every body, student or none
student.
3.EXAMINATION REGISTRATION FEE: Apart
from the course registration,
every student also pay One Thousand Naira
(N1000) per course as
examination fee. For each course registered by
students, he or she
must pay N1000 as examination fee. So, If a
student register an
average of 8 courses in a semester, he or she
must pay N8000 as
examination fee.
This implies that in each semester, the
University receives additional
N8000 as examination fee from each student.
If that amount is
multiplied by 350,000 students, this amount
to the sum of N2,
800,000,000.00 (Two Billion Eight Hundred
Million Naira) in just one
semester. The same amount is paid the
second semester. So, If we
multiply N2,800,000,000.00 by 2 semesters,
that amounts to N5,600,000,
000.00 (Five Billion, Six Hundred Million Naira)
in one year.
Please take note of these facts: Students pay
N41,000 as registration
fee,N40,000 as course material fee and
N16,000 as examination fee.
This means that, In just one year, each
student of the University pays
approximately N100,000.00 (One Hundred
Thousand Naira) officially.
Upon paying the above exobitant fees,
students do not get the
materials paid for, they go extral miles in
sourcing for additional
fund to get the materials from other sources.
Please also note that, the N100,000 official
fees doesn’t include the
extra fee students pay to external facilitators
for lectures, as the
University fails to provide facilitation as
promised to students
before their admission. Students have to pay
additional fee agreed
with external facilitators.
4. PROJECT RESEARCH FEE: It is not clear
why the University charges a
COMPULSORY registration fee for research
project for final-year
students. Last semester (2014/15 academic
session), this fee was
charged at N10,000. Now, the University has,
for unknown reasons, and
without any official notice to its students,
decided to increase this
fee to the sum of N15,000. For its post
graduate students, the
University increased the research project fee
from N15,000 to
N40,0000.
WE ARE UNABLE TO FIGURE OUT THE
RATIONALE FOR WHICH STUDENTS SHOULD
PAY THE UNIVERSITY FOR A RESEARCH
THAT WORLD BE CARRIED OUT BY THE
STUDENTS THEMSELVES.
The conclusion of our rumination over this
matter is that, the act is
completely indefensible and a deliberate ploy
to get money off
students.
Although, the University claimed that the fee is
for supervising the
research project, but we wonder why students
have to pay the
university to supervise its project. Isn’t that
the duty of the
University?
What made the issue even more disturbing is
the fact that, the
University never pays the supervisors. We
have it in good authority
that, the University owe the supervisors over
2years arrears. And as a
result of this, supervisors often ask students
to pay additional fee
for supervision, else, there project risked to be
delayed or not
supervised at all depending on the
compassionate nature of the
supervisors. If that happens, students may be
forced to pay another
registration fee the following year.
5. INDUSTRIAL TRAINING FEE:
Depending on the course, students are sent
out every semester for Industrial Training. The
University also
charges a COMPULSORY registration fee of
N10,000 for this which is
usually deducted directly from the student
portal. Additionally,
students pay another N1,000 which must be
paid separately into the
University’s Stanbic IBTC Bank account for
the same Industrial
Training! Therefore, for embarking on an
Industrial Training alone,
students of the University pays Eleven
Thousand Naira (N11,000.00) to
the management.
We are worried because, rather than pay
students for under-going
industrial training like it Is done in other
Universities, National
Open University of Nigeria receive N11,000
from students for that
purpose.
6. RESULT VERIFICATION FEE:

In addition, it is not clear why the
University should also charge a fee for what it
termed 'Result
Verification'. This fee is payable every year and
it is charged at
N5,000. Despite this fee being paid, students
who have attempted to
verify the authenticity of the controversial
results awarded to them
have largely collided on a rock. At no point
did the University ever
responded adequately to any student inquiry
about result verification.
So, if results are not verifiable, how then can
the National Open
University of Nigeria justify the receipt of this
money from students?
Please note: N5000 is charged every year as
Result Verification fee
from 350,000 students. This amount to the
sum of N1,750,000,000.00 (
One Billion, Seven Hundred and Fifty Million
Naira)
7. TEACHING PRACTICE FEE:

The University
also charges the sum of Ten
Thousand Naira (N10,000) from each student
in the department of
Education, under-going teaching practices.
This is an exercise in
which students from other institution get paid
to undergo, yet, Open
University students have to pay its own
management to undergo the same
exercise.
In summary, The National Open University of
Nigeria receives the following:
i. Registration Fee- N14,350,000,000.00
(Fourteen Billion, Three
Hundred and Fifty Million Naira)
ii. Course Material Fee- N14, 000, 000,
000,00 (Fourteen Billion Naira)
iii. Examination Fee- N5,600,000, 000.00 (Five
Billion, Six Hundred
Million Naira)
Iv. Research project Fee-
a. Undergraduate fee- N15,000 ( Fifteen
Thousand Naira) per student
b. Post Graduate fee – N40,000 (Fourty
thousand Naira) per student
v. Industrial Training Fee –N11,000 (Eleven
Thousand Naira) per student
vi. Result Verification Fee- N1,750,000,000.00
( One Billion, Seven
Hundred and Fifty Million Naira)
vii. Teaching Practice Fee- N10,000.00 ( Ten
Thousand Naira) per student.

THE APPEAL
In the circumstances, we therefore urge you to
use your good offices
to cause investigation into the allegation in the
followings terms:
1. Confirm the actual and total payments
made by each student of the
National Open University of Nigeria officially.
2. Confirm whether it is appropriate and legal,
for the management of
National Open University of Nigeria to receive
on a yearly basis, the
sum of N14, 000, 000, 000,00 (Fourteen
Billion Naira) as course
material fee without providing those course
materials to the students.
Also confirm what the University does with the
above sum since it is
not provinding the materials paid for by the
students.
3. Confirm whether it is appropriate and legal,
for the University to
receive on a yearly basis, the sum of
N5,600,000, 000.00 (Five
Billion, Six Hundred Million Naira) as
examination fee, after the
students had paid for registration.
4. Confirm whether it is appropriate and legal,
for the University to
charge final year students,the sum of N15,000
(Undrgraduate) and
N40,000 (post Graduate) as project research
fee, when it is the
student themselves that would carry out these
researchs.
5. Confirm whether it is appropriate and legal,
for the University to
charge students going for Industrial Training,
the sum of N11,000.00,
when students from other Universities get paid
for undertaking the
same excercise.
6. Confirm whether it is appropriate and legal,
for the University to
receive on a yearly basis, the sum of
N1,750,000,000.00 (One Billion,
Seven Hundred and Fifty Million Naira) as
result verification fee
without providing the services for which the
fees are charged.
7. Confirm whether it is appropriate and legal,
for the University to
charge the sum of N10,000.00 as fee for
Teaching Practice fee, when
students from other Universities are paid to
undergo the same
excercise.
8. Ascertain whether the result verification fee,
examination fee,
course registration fee, Industrial Training fee,
Teaching Practice
Fee and Project research fee by the University
are duplicate charges
which amount to extortion.
9. Ascertain whether the University has been
fraudulently extorting
helpless students, by whom and punish the
culprits accordingly;
10. Establish why students of National Open
University of Nigeria are
not being paid for participating in Teaching
practices and Industrial
Trainings by the Industrial Training Fund.
11. Establish in concrete terms, why students
must continue to pay the
University for the following: i.Research project
fee ii. Result
Verification fee iii. Examination registration fee
iv. Course
registration fee v. Industrial Training fee and vi.
Teaching
Practice.
12. Call for the audit of National Open
University of Nigeria’s
accounts, to confirm and ascertain projects
claimed to be executed by
management and its expensis.
13. Prosecute anybody found wanting in your
investigation and ensure
that the money dubiously collected from
students are properly
accounted for and safely returned if need be.

CULPABLE PERSONS IN THE INSTITUTION
1. The Vice Chancellor (Profesor Vincent Ado
Tenebe)
2. Deputy Vice-Chancellor Academic ( Prof
Patrick Eke Eya)
3. Deputy Vice-Chancellor Administration
( Prof Victor O. Adedipe)
4. The Registrar (Mrs Josephine O.Akinyemi)
5. Bursar (Mr.John M. Onyeme)
6. The entire members of the institution’s
senate
While we urge you to immediately cause the
investigation accordingly,
we respectfully wish to inform you that failure
to act as requested
will leave us with no option than to take
recourse to our courts as
well as embark on any appropriate civil action
to ensure that our
demands are met.
Please note that, we are in era of change and
this petition is part of
our patriotic quest to transform our University
from a den of corrupt
practices to one in which justice, transparency
and accountability
will be our guiding principles.
Please, accept our assurances of our highest
regards.