THE Adamawa State College of Nursing and Midwifery has suspended the admissions it started on Tuesday after some Muslims in the state protested against the payment of parts of the admission fees into a microfinance bank owned by a church.
The school had directed applicants to pay the sum of N500 professional fee meant for the state Nursing and Midwifery Council into an account opened in the Brethren Microfinance Bank in Yola, the state capital, where the school is also located.
All applicants must also pay N5,715 for the admission form. The payment for the admission form was to be paid in other banks.
But some Muslims, led by one Shehu Ismail, protested the school management’s decision to use the bank owned by church to collect the Nursing and Midwifery Council fee.
The group claimed the payment would increase the bank’s financial strength.
Besides, they said the school’s decision to use the bank smacked off “a gradual Christianisation of the state structures”.
Adamawa State College of Nursing and Midwifery admission notice stirring crisis
Part of a widely-shared write-up by the group reads: “Our findings revealed that the Brethren Microfinance Bank Ltd, with the office address at No 1, EYN headquarters, Kwarshi, Adamawa State, was incorporated in Yola, the state capital, with registration number 1423616. It was registered on 07 July 2017, and its current status is unknown.
“As the church’s establishment, through the bank, EYN will give the church some financial strength and grant the youth scholarships, capital, and the likes.
“This is unacceptable as the EYN will not accept any bank established by an Islamic organisation or the Mosque to be patronised by public institutions in a plural religious state like Adamawa.
“We are hereby calling on those who can reach out to the Adamawa state governor to let him address our misgivings. We suspect as gradual Christianisation of the state structures.”
The ICIR reporter contacted the school provost, Lami Aminu, over the development on Friday. She confirmed the group’s action and the suspension of the admission.
She said: “The issue is simple. There’s no crisis, except for those that didn’t really understand. On this (admission) committee, we have a board comprising people from both religions. They agreed that they would use that bank. That was exactly what happened.
“When students started paying, it was a professional fee. Is there any problem there? People interpret things the way they want. That is just what is happening. We have debunked it. I have suspended the admission.
“The professional fee is used to maintain the Nursing and Midwifery Committee at the state level. It’s not for the bank. How will it be for the bank?”
What the school wrote on its admission notice
The school issued the admission notice on August 16.
Applicants were to obtain the form via Remita with their automated teller machine (ATM) card or generate Remita Retrieval Reference (RRR) and pay at any bank after getting the admission form at a designated website.
As said above, the admission form cost N5,715, plus the N500 fee meant for the state Nursing and Midwifery Council.
Applicants were to upload the following with their form on the website where they pick the form: birth certificate, indigene letter, primary school leaving certificate, testimonial and other results.
They were also to print three copies of the form and submit them to the college with their e-receipt by August 31, when the admission was scheduled to close.
The school registrar, Ibrahim Abubakar, signed the admission notice.
The school offered admissions into Basic Nursing, Basic Midwifery, Community Nursing and Community Midwifery programmes.
Community programmes are for indigenes only, according to the school management.
After making the payments with the account numbers provided, applicants were to bring their payment tellers to the college.
The ICIR’s findings about the bank
Checks by this newspaper showed that there might be Muslims and Christians on the microfinance bank board going by the names of its directors.
As the protesting Muslims claimed, the bank was incorporated in Yola, with registration number 1423616.
It was also registered on July 7, 2017, and has been inactive on Nigeria’s Corporate Affairs Commission (CAC). Institutions with inactive status on the government’s website have failed to meet important obligations, which may not stop their operations for some period.
The ICIR also confirmed that the bank’s office address is at the headquarters of its owner – the church – in Kwarshi, Adamawa State.
However, this newspaper could not find any phone number to contact the bank.
Checks on its website and all popular social media handles yielded no result. The bank did not also respond to a message sent to it by the reporter on the crisis, hours before publishing this report.
Below are the directors and other stakeholders of the bank.
Owners/directors/key management personnel of Brethren Microfinance Bank in Yola attached.