By Abdulrasheed Olokoto
Abdulmumin, a 200-level student from the Department of Biochemistry, UI, had admired the atmosphere and what he described as a sense of brotherhood at his allocated hall, Great Independence Hall of Residence, upon his arrival at campus.
Like every freshman, he was, during the accommodation registration, required to pay #4500 for the hall’s merchandise, which traditionally consist of the hall’s books and shirts.
Contrary to his expectation and that of many other Katangites, Team Altruism, the defunct Peculiar Adedeji-led Indy Hall Executive Council, failed to distribute the merchandise to the student residents of the hall, despite the formal having footed the bill.
Abdulmumin told IndyPress that when he and other fellow residents went to request for their packages from the current administration (Team Sustenance), they were told that the shirts which were supposed to come with the hall’s merchandise were not available.
He said, “We went to request for our packages when the administration announced that we should come for them. But they told us that the shirts were not available. Instead of addressing us properly and giving us an exact time it would be ready, they showed no remorse.”
“They should try as soon as possible to give us our merchandise because we paid for it. People said last session that packages are distributed in the second semester of every session,” he added.
According to Abdulmumin, the student residents of the hall who requested for their paid merchandise were asked to leave with the promise that the delayed distribution would be addressed.
As it is already eighth week of the first semester of the current session, no further update regarding the merchandise distribution has been made, IndyPress observed.
Decrying the development, Addulmunin complained about what he framed as non-chalant attitude by the Chisom Obinelo-led Indy Hall Executive Council towards the issues around the undistributed packages.
“This administration feels nonchalant about it, they behave as if they are not concerned. Whereas the current Administrator General, Obinelo Chisom Folorunsho was also part of the said administration,” he said.
When asked if he had paid for merchandise in the current academic session despite the unresolved issue at hand, he said, “No! I didn’t pay for it this session at all. And I will not bother to pay because what the last administration did is yet to be resolved. It was better I used my money to eat at SBJ rather than paying for the merchandise.”
The distribution of merchandise warranted by student basic dues is a long-standing tradition at the University of Ibadan, spanning halls of residence, faculties, and departments. Traditionally, merchandise is expected to be distributed in the second semester of every academic session.
However, this pattern has recently shifted, with several student administrations on campus failing to deliver packages on time for reasons best known to them.
At the Great Independence Hall of Residence, timely distribution was a sure bet, until the tenure of Team Altruism, led by Peculiar Adedeji, an administration which was alleged and convicted of several administrative irregularities.
Speaking with IndyPress, Adetola, a 400-level student of the Department of Environmental Health Science, voiced his frustration regarding the development.
“The thing is very sad actually. Last two sessions, when I paid for the hoodie, I got it quickly by the second semester of the same session,” he recalled.
“But the day when I went to the new executives to collect my book and shirt for the past administration, they only gave me the book without the shirt I paid for. They said that there were some issues on the ground that I had to wait till they solve it; that there were some complications that just happened, and that later on, they would call us to collect them.
“ But I don’t know why. We are in the eighth week of this semester and we have not heard or seen anything regarding the distribution, and time is running out fast. For something that should have been distributed since the second semester of the last session,” he added.
When asked if he would pay for merchandise in subsequent sessions, he noted, “I know the hall dues are compulsory, but with the current situation, someone might need to think twice”
He further called for sanctions against the current administration, describing its conduct as irresponsible and indicative of poor leadership.
Sam, a 200-level student from the Faculty of Computer Science, echoed similar concerns, stating, “I don’t see anything bad in paying for the merchandise but distribution was the problem.”
Sam also observed that signs of delay were evident even before the end of the previous session.
“I became aware that the distribution would be late when we had a meeting at the Quadrangle. The Secretary of State and the other Executives gave us the reason why it was delayed before the presentation.”
“They said that they were still sorting out the design. The reason they gave then was that they wanted to show us the design,” he added.
The situation, he said, has eroded his trust in student leadership. “The situation has affected my trust in the student leadership. I believed that we should get it immediately. It showed that people that were in the administration were not trustworthy,” Sam noted.
In an Interview with IndyPress, the immediate past Financial Commissioner of Indy Hall, Victor Nifemi, on April 20, 2026, claimed that the distribution of the delayed hall’s merchandise was ongoing.
“The distribution has started and is still ongoing. Anybody that is yet to receive theirs can reach out to the current finance commissioner and he will be given. The delay was caused by the late delivery of the shirt and the books,” Victor Nifemi claimed.
Contrary to Victor’s claim, the current Financial Commissioner of the hall, Victor Aribike, noted that the only package available are the hall’s books.
“I only have the books with me, which I have been sharing to Katangites every week,” Aribike told IndyPress
The Silence of ‘Team Sustenance’
Relentless efforts by IndyPress to obtain comments from the current Administrator General of Indy Hall, Obinelo Chisom Folorunsho, were unsuccessful as of the time of filling this report.
It is worth noting that during the hall’s second ordinary sitting held on April 12, 2026, Chisom Obinelo stated that distribution had been suspended due what he claimed to be insufficient supply.
He further explained that the previous administration only handed over the books, but failed to provide necessary details regarding the shirts.
“They gave us the contact information of the person in charge of the books and we looked after it. However, they did not give us that of the person in charge of the shirts,” he clarified.
Indy Hall 15th Assembly Speaks
The Speaker of Indy Hall Legislative Council (15th Assembly), Rt. Hon. Gbadegesin Abdulmatin, in an interview, confirmed the case had been tabled before hall management.
“As I said earlier in my exclusive interview with IndyPress, this case has been tabled to the Hall Management. The Hall Warden himself has been actively involved in it,” Hon. Gbadegesin told IndyPress.
“The new Hall Warden was even the one that approved the remaining balance for this merchandise immediately he assumed office,” he disclosed.
When asked about the intervention of the House moving forward, Hon. Abdulmatin noted,“We met Hall Warden some weeks ago, and we discovered that this issue is still there. But with what I heard recently, he had taken another step to address it. The best person we can ask for what to do next is the Hall Warden and the Administrator General.”
“The House has been actively involved in it. While it has been tabled to higher authorities to actively proffer solutions,”
The delay in the distribution of packages among student associations has become prevalent at the University of Ibadan.
For example, the NUESA Executive Council at the Faculty of Education, led by Waris Ajibola, fondly referred to as Gucci, failed to distribute the faculty packages to the students. The situation also persists in other constituencies, including departments, faculties and halls of residence.
It is very important that Team Sustenance, Chisom Obinelo-led Indy Executive Council, as well as the hall’s 15th Assembly and management address the partial distribution of the hall’s packages.
As the students have demanded, the hall’s leadership must treat the issue with all the sense of urgency it deserves, as Katangites have the right to the possession of what they paid for.
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