By Chizoba Okeke
The members of the National Association of Nigerian Students (NANS), Joint Campus Council, Anambra State Axis, staged a protest at the Anambra State House of Assembly, decrying what they described as an unjust and exploitative increase in rent and agency fees across student host communities.
The protesting students, who marched to the Assembly complex, called on the State Assembly to urgently intervene and introduce regulations to curb arbitrary charges imposed by landlords and agents.
Addressing the demonstrators on behalf of the Speaker, the Majority Leader and member representing Ekwusigo Constituency, Hon. Ikenna Ofodeme, commended the students for adopting a peaceful and lawful approach in presenting their grievances.
He assured them that the House was already taking legislative steps to address the issue, noting that the burden of rising rents extends beyond students to parents and guardians.
According to him, the Eighth Assembly has commenced work on a bill aimed at tackling the excesses in the housing sector affecting students, urging the protesters to remain calm as efforts are underway to resolve the matter.
Also speaking, the member representing Aguata I Constituency and Chairman, House Committee on Education, Hon. Anayo Okpalaeke, reiterated the Assembly’s commitment to ensuring a swift resolution of the crisis.
He expressed optimism that the concerns raised would soon become a thing of the past, assuring that the legislature would act decisively within a short timeframe.
Earlier, the NANS Chairman in the state, Comrade Ifeanyichukwu Chukwuemeka, said the protest was driven by the need to safeguard the welfare of students living in host communities of tertiary institutions across Anambra.
He lamented that landlords and agents operate without regulation, supervision, or accountability, describing their practices as arbitrary, oppressive, and detrimental to both students and their families.
“We are here to appeal to the legislature to enact laws that will regulate and standardize rent in student communities, as well as fix reasonable and uniform agency fees,” he said.
The students maintained that only a comprehensive legal framework would bring lasting relief and sanity to the housing sector affecting thousands of undergraduates in the state.
Chizoba is of the Ministry of Information, Anambra State
