Governor Okezie Ikpeazu of Abia State has ordered the management of ABSU to immediately cancel the purported school fee increase announced by the university management on Monday, April 17, 2026.
The directive was stated by Onyebuchi Ememanka, media aide to the governor, on Monday evening, April 17 2026.
The statement ordered an immediate cancelation of the fee, which was increased by 350% as described as “unacceptable.”
The governor acknowledged that operating under the current fiscal regime has become highly challenging for the university. That difficulty, in his reading, does not justify passing the shortfall to students in a single step.
His stated concern was access. Children of low-income families in the state should still be able to reach tertiary education, and the statement placed responsibility on university management to understand and protect that.
The directive also set out a process requirement. Before concluding on any future hike, the university management is expected to engage all relevant stakeholders in the community and hold robust consultations with them.
On funding, the statement gave an assurance that the state government will support the university through subventions, which is the mechanism offered in place of the cancelled increase.
What a 350% Increase Would Have Meant
A rise of that scale multiplies a fee by four and a half times rather than adding to it. For a household already budgeting at the edge, that is the difference between a tight session and no session at all.
It also arrived without the stakeholder consultation the governor has now made a condition. That procedural gap, as much as the figure itself, is what the directive addresses.
Students who had already begun paying under the revised schedule should watch for official guidance from the bursary on how those payments are treated once the old rates are restored.
Where the ABSU Reversal Leaves Students
The increase announced on Monday, April 17, 2026 was cancelled the same evening, so students at Abia State University should expect the previous schedule to stand rather than the revised one.
Nothing in the directive rules out a future review. It requires consultation first, which means any later adjustment should reach students through the university community rather than as a sudden announcement.
Until the bursary issues updated guidance, generate your invoice on the portal before paying anything and query any amount that reflects the cancelled rates.
Keep receipts for payments already made under the higher schedule, since those are the documents the university will ask for if a reconciliation becomes necessary.