Elmada Hostel Rent Hike Sparks Reaction Among UNIZIK Management and Students

By Chioma Emerenini

Students living at Elmada; a private hostel situated on Nnamdi Azikiwe University (Unizik) Awka Campus, woke up to an outrageous increment, which the management insisted was necessary because of renovations that needed to be done, Unizik management intervened and the students woke up to see their rent reduced from a disputed N480,000 to N300,000 on Thursday morning, preceding these were days of protest that began, when hostel management announced the increment through the Elmada Family WhatsApp platform without warning,that sparked backlash from angry students who said the fee, more than double what they previously paid, was not justified by any visible improvement to hostel facilities.

The rent hike, from N228,800 to N480,000, was announced through the hostel’s official WhatsApp platform by the boys’ block supervisor. According to the supervisor, the announcement was not meant to happen that day. She had intended to draft a joint explanatory message with the hostel manager first. However, she was forced to act early after students began questioning a separate SMS, sent under the sender ID “LESSONS” or “ELMADA,” announcing a new group insurance plan for residents, which many mistook for the new hostel fee itself.

The insurance message, sent at 8:17am, detailed coverage including telemedicine access with medication support of up to N20,000 monthly, personal accident cover of N100,000 for medical expenses, N300,000 for permanent disability, N300,000 for accidental death, and N40,000 for funeral expenses, along with fire, tenant, and third party property damage cover of up to N200,000 per student per session.

News of the actual fee increase triggered anger among residents, who flooded the WhatsApp group with complaints questioning what improvements justified more than doubling their rent. The group’s admin subsequently restricted the chat to admins only after some students were removed.

Shortly afterward, a hostel representative shared a breakdown of planned improvements to justify the new fee, including direct NEPA power connection, hostel water treatment, roofing repairs to Block B, extended generator hours, full fumigation of the premises, and installation of a solar system. Students also noted that the fee for packing out of the hostel, charged to those who do not renew, had risen from N30,000 to N50,000, with some residents, including a final year student on industrial training placement, saying they had insufficient time to relocate.


Still, management issued no formal memo addressing the increment throughout the dispute. The hostel manager, identified only as Tochukwu, did not directly address residents at any point, according to students, who say communication from management has typically been reactive, responding only after students raise concerns in the group chat.

Meanwhile, two female residents reported the situation to former Students’ Union Government President Hero, who escalated it to the SUG President elect. The SUG President elect visited the hostel on Monday to request a meeting with management, and returned Wednesday for a second visit, during which he reported that the manager claimed “the school is aware of the increase,” a claim that raised questions among students, since the Dean of Students’ Affairs was reportedly not aware.

Adding to the tension, on Tuesday, before the dispute was resolved, the boys’ block supervisor announced that payment for returning students had already opened, with a deadline of September 16, despite the semester not yet concluding, fueling further anger among residents.


Later that Wednesday night, Prof. Kingsley Ubaoji, Dean of Students’ Affairs, issued a notice circulated through university media channels and the UNIZIK portal, directing all residents to ignore and refuse to pay the new increment, and warning that sanctions awaited the hostel management over the matter.


The following morning, around 9am, the Vice Chancellor, Prof. Bond Stanley Anyaehie, visited Emlda Hostel to speak directly with students, with only female residents coming out to address him. He asked about the amount students paid, water availability, and room occupancy. In response, students raised further complaints about poor communication, particularly around generator scheduling during power outages, while final year students said they had nowhere else to relocate to with their project defenses approaching.

The Vice Chancellor then asked students what they would be willing to pay if hostel services were improved. The majority responded with N300,000. Shortly after his visit, the SUG President elect confirmed via a status update, widely reshared by students, that the fee would be reduced to N300,000, with an official memo to follow.

Following the visit, the hostel’s online payment portal was closed, days after briefly opening for payment that Tuesday, a move believed to reflect efforts to correct the fee before reopening.


Elmada Hostel, formally named “Goodluck Ebele Jonathan” Hostel according to a pledge displayed at its reception, operates as a public private partnership between UNIZIK and the Elmada Group, a detail that helps explain the university management’s direct authority to intervene in the dispute.

As of press time, hostel management has yet to issue any official statement, and the promised memo confirming the N300,000 fee has not been released