By: William Olaleye
Five days after the UI’SRC approved in a sitting that a Congress be held on Saturday 17th of May, 2025, the UI’SU is yet to make any announcement or call for Congress both officially and unofficially. Recall that a sitting was held on Saturday 10th of May, and amongst other resolution, the UI’SRC moved that the UI’SU call for a Congress to address certain issues, including and especially the issue of fee hike and discrepancies. However days after this motion was moved and a resolution made, there has been radio silence from both the UI’SU and the UI’SRC as regards the congress and mobilisation.
While the UI’SRC officially released a memo stating their resolution today, Thursday 15th 2025, it is noteworthy that no other form of communication from the union’s principal officers as regards the congress proceeded this one.
Mobilisation for Congress has overtime been an issue with students’ union executives and members of the SRC being reluctant to either call for a Congress or even mobilise students to attend. Mobilisation is even harder when the call for Congress is made so late (sometimes less than 24 hours to the congress) that majority of the student populace are left unaware and uninterested.
The repercussion of the elongated silence from UI’SU executive council as regards the congress that should hold in less than 48 hours is that many students are unaware that a Congress should hold in the first place the same way they do not know the issues this Congress should address.
A correspondent of the Union of Campus Journalists as an attempt to guage how many students are aware of the congress, went around certain faculties interview students. However, responses were largely negative, with only a limited number of students who were aware of the event.
Speaking to UCJ on why the call for congress had not been made, the UI’SU PRO, Ezekiel Adekanmbi who was initially hesitant to give a reply stated that since the Student Union had not released any statement, he was not under any obligation to do so.
“Am I the one that will issue a release on Congress? You’re saying I’m the PRO… Am I the one that will issue a flyer on Congress? If you see a release on Congress, will you take it seriously?” Mr. Ezekiel said.
The PRO was persistent in his belief that it lay outside of his duties to inform students of the Congress. Recall though, that the same Ezekiel Adekambi had in an interview with the press during his campaign promised to mobilize students across hall and faculties in the case of a Congress.The UCJ reminded him of his promise and his reply was, “has the Students’ Union Executives released anything?” The interview ended on that note.
A UCJ correspondent also reached out to the President of the student union but as of press time, he is yet to make a response.
