The hall warden of the hall, Dr. F.A. Bello has directed that all Brownites who have booked a room pay up for their accommodation and show evidence of payment on or before Friday. In a message passed across via the departmental representatives, the warden assures that the spaces of those who default will immediately be reassigned. She emphasized that only those who have secured a space should go ahead with the payment. Those who have been allocated box rooms are however required to get the payment codes from hall supervisor and pay to the to the hall’s Internally Generated Revenue (IGR) account at UI (main campus). There are expectations however that the finalists would be favoured with an extension considering the issue of amount displayed on their portal (30,000 instead of the new 40,000 accommodation charge).
Finalists were on Wednesday, June 20, asked to go secure bed spaces at the warden’s office. Three days later, the balloting exercise for non-finalists was conducted. In a near opposition to the experience of the previous session, the balloting was largely in favor of the male students. This is mostly due to the conversion of the second floor of Block D (which previously was for female students) to a male occupied floor. The warden reportedly explained that the skewness was inevitable and that the effect would have been more on the male students if the floor had not been converted.
In a similar development, the 300level BMLS students may not be allocated rooms for the session. The president of the department’s students association, Mr. Ahmed Ogunlade who lamented the development however expressed optimism as he plans to meet the warden again. He said the warden has been referring him to the H.O.D insisting that she has had some contacts with him. The H.O.D had traveled for few months earlier when the issue was deliberated upon; a development he (Ahmed) blamed for the eventual turn out.
Speaking on the issue, the chairman of the hall, Mr. Joseph Ogeleyinbo rather blamed it on the absence of the President at the time the decision was made. He said, “She (warden) said the new students are now over fifty as against twenty they last had. She complained that the number was continuously increasing and that the hall may not be able to cope with it. She then wrote to the Dean that they students be coming from UI and the Dean agreed. Initially she wanted to use the quota system which would have favored majorly, the medicine students. She was considering 3 MB;BS to one (of other departments). She later concluded that everything be made open and everyone should ballot. And I think it really favored the 400level BMLS guys. A lot of them got“.