ASUU strike: NANS holds mass protest today

The leadership of National Association of Nigerian Students, (NANS) has threatened to embark on mass protest across the country today (Monday) following the refusal of the federal government to end the three weeks old strike of Academic Staff Union of University, (ASUU).
The student body disclosed that it had no choice than to shut down all the tertiary institutions in the country on Monday to enable students participate actively in this mass action having issued earlier a seven-day ultimatum to federal government to accede to the request of ASUU that public universities must be thoroghly funded.
The spokesman of the student body, Comrade Adeyemi Amoo stated this at a press briefing held at the secretariat of Nigerian Union of Journalists, Ogun state council, Oke Ilewo, Abeokuta over the weekend.
NANS insisted that it remains the duty of the government to create a conducive environment for learning and research because no country can be greater than its investment in the education sector.
The group condemned the APC Federal Government for paying lip service to funding of education and reducing the budgetary allocation from 10per cent as it were under previous administration of President Jonathan to seven per cent when the United Nations benchmark for this critical sector remains 26 per cent.
The students condemned the governor of Ekiti State, Dr Kayode Fayemi for lying that a professor earns more than a sitting governor saying that rather than playing to the gallery and confusing the members of the public, he should prevail on the federal government to attend to ASUU’s demands that our ivory towers must be well- funded so as to be able to compete with other nations of the world.
NANS also frowned at over bearing influence of authorities of universities on the finances of the students’ unions in their various campuses saying that the roles of the schools authorities on the running of its affairs could only be advisory as the students’ unions remain independent and never an extension of any office of the university.
It stated further that it would no longer accept a situation whereby university authorities forcefully gives directives on how students’ unions should manage their finances adding that the national body of Nigerian students will not hesitate to vent its anger on any tertiary institutions that did not desist from this act of intimidation and slavery.
The students also warned Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC not to toy with the idea of closing some schools while allowing others to remain opened during the forthcoming 2019 elections just to favour a particular party saying that the students body would resist any attempts or pranks targeted towards disenfranchising the students during next year elections.
The students also called on federal government to stop being selective in its fight against corruption asking for immediate investigation and prosecution of Adams Oshiomole, national chairman of the ruling party, APC over the allegations that he allegedly collected about $55million from some aspirants during the party’s primaries held last month.