Management Addresses Delays in ID Card Issuance, Blaming Logistics Issues

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By Samuel Faseyitan
In the early hours of Monday, 26th May 2025, the Division of Student Affairs (DSA) issued a release regarding the delay of Student ID Cards and blamed the delay on logistics. This release came after the Great Ife Students Representative Council planned to boycott classes and hold a sitting at the campus gate.

On 24th May 2025, the Central Executive Council of the Student Union issued an open letter to the management, in which they expressed their frustrations regarding the countless failed promises of the management to produce the basic proof of a student's affiliation with the institution. They highlighted the effects of the non-issuance of Identity Cards on students, including harassment, difficulties in applying for scholarships and grants, and lost job opportunities. Graduating students preparing for the NYSC are stuck with registration, given that the criteria for the 2023/2024 Rain Semester examination include the provision of the ID Card. They reinforced their stance with a small protest the same evening.


Matters escalated further on Sunday, 25th May 2025, during the SRC’s plenary session, where a motion titled “NO CLASSES TOMORROW” concerning the non-issuance of ID Cards was proposed. The plan was to send a notice of meeting to all SRC members to convene at Campus Road 1 (Campus Gate) for a 7:00am sitting, with the penalty of declaring the seat of any absent SRC member vacant. This motion was moved by Hon. Corlins from the Faculty of Agriculture and seconded by Hon. Romeo from the Faculty of Law. This plan to boycott classes and hold a sitting at the campus gate opens the possibility of a sit-in protest.

The Division of Student Affairs (DSA) published a release in the early hours of Monday, 26 May 2025, at exactly 5:16 am, signed by the Dean of DSA, Prof J. A. Odedire, via the University’s official Twitter handle, “OAUniversity.” The release refers to the meeting with the Student Union on Thursday, 22 May, and acknowledges the agitation of the OAU student body concerning the delay of the promised Smart ID Card. The DSA attributed this “unintended delay” to logistics caused by the incorporation of the smart features embedded in the ID, and promised once again that the University authorities are giving it priority attention to ensure that the first batch of the ID is delivered no later than Wednesday, 28 May 2025.

“This unintended delay, which is attributable to the logistics of the incorporation of the smart features embedded in the I.D. card, has been addressed by the company charged with production. The University authorities are prioritising the delivery of the first batch of the I.D. card by Wednesday, 28 May 2025,” the DSA stated.

The DSA also stressed the importance of the identity card and cited that the University administration would do all within its power to ensure that students' rights are not tampered with in any way.

It is worth recalling that in August 2024, during the 2022/2023 academic session, ACJ OAU reported on the delay in the distribution of the ID cards, at which point the Dean of Students Affairs had attributed the unavailability of the ID cards to the design, redesign, and inclusion of smart features such as wallet functions.

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