By: Sonaike Peter

On Wednesday, 25th September 2024, IndyPress Organization reported that the University of Ibadan Students’ Union, according to a claim by the Students’ Union Vice President, Boluwatife Nafisat Aboderin, disbursed crowdfunded money to indigent students.

The Press had hitherto reached out to the Students’ Union President, Aweda Bolaji to ask about the state of the crowdfunding exercise, an initiative the union resorted to, on Monday, 16th September, 2024, after failing to represent students’ aggregate interest against the systemization of fee hike.

With his line not reachable, the Students’ Union Vice President, Boluwatife Nafisat Aboderin, who ideally exist to deputize the Students’ Union President, confirmed through a phone conversation with IndyPress that the Students’ Union had disbursed proceeds from its fundraising scheme to indigent students.

A 54-seconds phone conversation with Boluwatife Nafisat Aboderin attested to the claim that the Union had disbursed its raised funds.

(A phone conversation where Boluwatife Nafisat Aboderin, as the Vice President of the Students’ Union, said the crowdfunded sum of money had been disbursed)

Later, repeated attempts to reach the Students’ Union Vice President, Boluwatife Nafisat Aboderin, after the initial call conversation ended in futility.

Responding to a chat sent by IndyPress correspondent after a while, Boluwatife Nafisat Aboderin explained that faculty presidents had submitted the details of indigent students, while the Students’ Union President, Aweda Bolaji “took it up from there”.

“Faculty Presidents were the ones that dropped names of the students that needed it and the president took it up from there. So reach out to him for more information,” Boluwatife Aboderin said.

IndyPress made relentless effort to reach the Students’ Union President, Aweda Bolaji, but his line was unreachable.

After the news article was published, resulting from a confirmation of the disbursement as pronounced by the Vice President, Boluwatife Nafisat Aboderin, the Students’ Union made a release signed by Aweda Bolaji, the Students’ Union President; and Omotayo Olumide, the Students’ Union Public Relations Officer, who jointly described the disbursement as false.

“The attention of the Students’ Union has been drawn to a news from Indy press that the bursary has been disbursed to the beneficiaries. This is entirely false,” the press release reads.

In direct opposite to the earlier claim by the Students’ Union Vice President, Boluwatife Nafisat Aboderin, which previously stated that the Students’ Union had disbursed the gathered fund, a press release by the Union afterwards debunked the claim.

The Students’ Union release tagged ‘clarification’ however noted that the union has not issued funds out to students, who had registered for it through their faculty associations.