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The National Union of Ghana Students (NUGS) has denied endorsing a plan by government to make students pay for utility bills on the campuses of the various tertiary institutions.

In a statement, the leadership of NUGS challenged the Deputy Minister of Education in charge of Tertiary, Mr Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa, over claims that they have endorsed the payment.

They asked the Deputy Minister to provide the said communiqué or forever hold his peace.

The statement, which was jointly signed by Iddi Muhayu-Deen, NUGS General Secretary, and Rhodalyn Eshun, Press and Information Secretary, read: “The leadership of NUGS have received with utter dismay comments attributed to the Deputy Education Minister (Tertiary Division), Okudzeto Ablakwa, to the effect that stakeholders in education, including student leaders, have agreed to a cost-sharing arrangement between government on one hand and students on the other in respect of the payment of utility bills at the nation's tertiary institutions.”

Mr Ablakwa initially made the revelation in Kumasi at the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology on April 15 whilst addressing students during the second edition of the ministry's Campus Connect series.

He has since been repeating same on several media platforms, NUGS stated.

This development, according to NUGS, has justifiably created a lot of fear and panic among students across the country, many of whom have vowed to take on the NUGS executive for such a gaffe.

“We, therefore, deem it expedient to come clean on the matter and put out the true facts.

“In setting the records straight, we wish to begin by stating unequivocally that the claims by Okudzeto Ablakwa are factually incorrect, spurious, and as such should be disregarded by all.

“We are by this release DARING [Mr] Ablakwa to make public the said communiqué he claims forms the basis for government's decision to partially withdraw utility subsidies to be borne by students, which was reached at the end of a stakeholder meeting.

“If [Mr] Ablakwa fails to produce that communiqué, which he claims received the endorsement of NUGS (or its rep), then he should not only desist from making such claims, but should also retract and render an unqualified apology to the leadership of NUGS for this unwarranted disservice. If he fails to do either, we shall advise ourselves.”

If government intends to withdraw utility subsidies to public institutions, then it should gather the necessary courage to make that point loud and clear rather than this cowardly approach of trying to ‘implicate’ student leaders in this enterprise as a cover-up for government's unpopular move. It is very much obvious that government is afraid of the consequences and political ramifications of such move, hence the decision to play a smart one at all of us, the students said.

“For the avoidance of doubt, we wish to once again state emphatically that NUGS has NOT consented to any communiqué that involves levying the cost of utility bills on students. In fact, we are yet to see the final resolution or communiqué of the stakeholder meeting held on March 25 at the UPSA Auditorium.

“We, therefore, find it disingenuous that Ablakwa continuously makes reference to this communiqué that nobody but himself has seen. Why hasn't it been issued to the media as agreed upon? Obviously, a communiqué cannot be a secret document and we demand to see it NOW and NOW. We have had enough of this political gymnastics and merry-go-round.”

They continued: “We wish to conclude by reiterating our longstanding impregnable position in respect of this matter, that NUGS shall vehemently RESIST any attempt by government to surcharge students for utility bills. That will not, and cannot, happen else the students of this country will shake the very foundation of our government with an unwavering ALUTA.”