APPARENTLY bothered by the industrial action rocking the
education sector, leadership of the National Association of
Nigerian Students, NANS, has vowed to shut down all
major federal express roads next week if no resumption
date is fixed. The students union came up with the
decision after an emergency meeting held in the Kwara
State College of Education, Ilorin. NANS laments unions
strike: They decried that the Federal Government allowed
the Academic Staff Union of Universities, ASUU, Non-
Academic Staff Union of Educational and Associated
Institutions, NASU, Senior Staff Association of Nigerian
Universities, SSANU, and National Association of
Academic Technologists, NAAT, to ground academic and
non academic activities in Nigerian institutions.
Communicating the outcome of their meeting with
Vanguard, NANS Senate President, Comrade Taiwo
Bamigbade said, “The Senate meeting was well attended
by the Student Union Presidents from various tertiary
institutions across the six geo political zones of the
federation, NANS National Executive Council members,
stakeholders and concerned Nigerian students. NANS
Senate condemns in totality the lack of sincerity of the
Federal Government to the 2009 agreement it entered with
all the academic staff unions.” NANS President, Chinonso
Obasi According to him, the inactiveness of the Federal
Ministry of Education to engage the staff unions in a
meaningful negotiation to avert the ongoing nationwide
strike by ASUU, NASU, SSANU and NAAT calls for
concern. Integrity and standard of education He implored
the unions to look beyond the strike action and possibly
seek justice from the court, as their only negotiation tools
to press home their legitimate demands from the Federal
Government to save the integrity and standard of
education in Nigeria. He said: “NANS is calling on the
Federal Government to expedite action to bring back the
striking lecturers/staff to work or consider total shut
down of all major federal express roads by Nigerian
students if no resumption date is fixed in the next one
week.” Urges FG to probe governors over Paris Club
Refund The students union, at the same meeting, also
called for the probe of state governors who collected the
Paris Club refund but refused to pay their workers
salaries. Bamigbade said: “NANS is calling for an
immediate probe of all state governments Paris Club
refund utilisation, as the purpose to which the fund was
disbursed as announced by President Muhammadu Buhari
was jettisoned by many states, leaving many state civil
servants and pensioners salary arrears unclear.” NANS
urges FG to take over LAUTECH In its communiqué,
NANS called on the Federal Executive Council, National
Assembly and the two states involved in the ownership of
Ladoke Akintola University of Technology, LAUTECH, to
act as a matter of urgency and to speed up the
processes required to acquire Ladoke Akintola University of
Technology, Ogbomosho, Oyo State by the Federal
Government to save the careers of thousands of Nigerian
students in the university. He added that NANS also
frowned at the proposed school fees for the university by
the state government. Permanent resolution of crisis
Similarly, the union called on the Federal Ministry of
Education to mandate all heads of institutions to key in
to T-Ship programme of National Health Insurance
Scheme, NHIS, to guarantee affordable and timely health
care service for Nigerian students. Just as it also called
on Health Maintainace Organizations, HMOs, to be more
prudent in their dealings with Nigerian tertiary institutions
and the student populace. While NANS commended Kaduna
State Government for the reopening of tertiary institutions
in southern Kaduna, it sues for the return of peace and
order in the state and for more government attention on
education. It added, “The Senate congratulated the newly
appointed Ondo State Executive Council Members
(Commissioners) while calling on the Commissioner of
Education to prioritise the permanent resolution of crisis
in all state owned institutions, particularly Rufus Giwa
Polytechnic Owo, Ondo State. Union passes vote of
confidence on its president Meantime, the NANS Senate
has passed vote of confidence on her national president,
Comrade Chinonso Obasi, GCNS, for his tireless efforts
to reposition NANS better as well as his giant strides to
have re-invigorated NANS back to the Committee of
Continental Students Union Bodies under All Africa
Students Union, AASU, with his adequate representation in
just concluded AASU Summit in Ghana, where he won an
award as the most outstanding student leader in Africa.
The statement said,”The Senate, as a matter of urgency,
implore Federal Ministry of Health and Niger State
Government to come to the aid of its former NANS
president Comrade Mohammed Dauda Kapon, who needs a
Liver Transplant in India Hospital.”
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