As part of their efforts to sort out the ongoing industrial action against the Federal Government by Nigerian lecturers, the National Association of Nigerian Students (NANS) has begged former Vice President Atiku Abubakar, Asiwaju Bola Tinubu and other presidential aspirants to rally around and raise money in order to meet the demands of the striking university lecturers.
In a statement signed by the Chairman of Ogun State Joint Campus Committee (JCC), Comrade Damilola Simeon the students’ body had made the appeal to the Statesmen while imploring them to do their part in getting them out of this mess.
The students, who have embarked on a nationwide protest, said the appeal followed the “failure of the Federal Government to accede to the demands of the striking lecturers.”
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The NANS leader, according to the statement, urged the presidential aspirants to come to the rescue of Nigerian students through generous donations so that public universities could be reopened.
“All the presidential aspirants, especially those from the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) and the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) must rise up and come to the rescue of all Nigerian students.
“If truly the aspirants mean well for Nigerians as they are claiming and if they have the love of Nigerian students at heart, they should raise the fund to meet the demands of ASUU, since the Federal Government has failed woefully in its commitment to improving the education sector.
“Today in Nigeria, both university and polytechnic education is paralysed due to the ongoing strike actions by both members of ASUU and ASUP. It is very unfortunate and unacceptable.
“Nigerian students hereby call on the presidential aspirants, in the spirit of patriotism and in the interest of development, to rally round Nigerian students.
“All of these aspirants paid huge amount of money to procure their nomination forms, so donating funds to rescue the tertiary education in Nigeria should not be too difficult for them.
“It is only by doing this that Nigerian students and Nigerians in general will respect and show support for their ambitions,” the statement read partly.
Africa Today News, New York reports that over 20 aspirants obtained the APC presidential form at the rate of ₦100 million each, including Vice President Yemi Osinbajo.
In the opposition PDP, the ₦40 million presidential form was picked by about 17 interested party members.