Bed bug: UNILAG rehabilitates hostels

The University of Lagos (UNILAG) on Tuesday
said it had changed the facility managers
maintaining its halls of residence for effective
maintenance.
The change follows protest by students about
the menace of bed bugs in UNILAG hostels
last October.
The Deputy Dean of the Students’ Affairs of
the institution, Dr Karo Ogbinaka, told the
News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) that the
university management was taking steps to
improve the welfare of students by
rehabilitating the hostels.
“Because we want to get the best for our
students, the facilities in place now are a lot
better. It is in the light of this that we have
decided to change the contractors we are
using as facility maintenance managers.
“We have also changed all the mattresses,
fumigated the halls and this is what had
delayed the allocation of bed spaces to the
students. They, however, started moving in
from Sunday, Jan. 17,” he said.

Ogbinaka said that renovation and
reconstruction works on the halls started last
year. He added that one of the halls, El-
Kanemi, is being converted from wooden
bungalow structures to concrete en-suite type.
“We are re-constructing the El-kanemi Hall for
expansion to accommodate about 1,000
students. We are also renovating the
Sodeinde Hall and the students are really
excited about this development.
“Some university workers are also moving into
these halls as hospitality staff. They have
been trained to run the hostels like what
obtains in highbrow hotels, with a feeling of
home away from home. The hostels will no
longer necessarily be the normal place to
sleep and wake up alone as there are many
fresh innovations being put in place,” he said.
He called on parents, students and other
stakeholders to show more understanding.
“The existing halls of residence have been
overcrowded, overused, and the facilities have
been overstretched,” he added.
Meanwhile, the university has refuted claims
that it shut the postgraduate students’ hostels
while the students were writing examinations.
The Deputy Registrar, Information, Mr Toyin
Adegbule said the hostels were shut because
postgraduate students are on vacation.