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The leadership of the National Association of Nigerian Students, NANS, has said it members would not participate in the forth coming general elections if the strike action embarked by university and polytechnic teachers is not called off before the general elections.
The NANS President, Comr. Bamidele Danielson Akpan, made the disclosure on Monday afternoon in Nasarawa State University, Keffi, in a statement released to newsmen.
Comr. Akpan frowned at the carefree attitude by the federal government in resolving issues that led to the protracted strike. Although the leadership of the organisation had met with President Muhammadu Buhari on January 3, 2019 to discuss the way forward in resolving the strike, the meeting had produced little or no result.
The President had promised the NANS delegation that the issues that led to the strike action would be looked into to ensure that the university and polytechnic teachers return back to class room.
NANS, had on November 19, 2018 organised a “save education rally” across the 36 states in the country, calling on the government to see it as an issue of utmost importance to revamp and rehabilitate the tertiary education system in the country.
The organisation had also issued a-14-day ultimatum in December 2018, to both the federal government and ASUU to call of the strike or face the wrath of Nigerian students. The ultimatum, however, led to President Buhari’s invitation which was extended to the organisation.
The NANS President said that Nigerian students across the 36 states would bycott the forthcoming general elections, beginning from February 16. He added that the leadership of the organisation would mobilise across board to ensure restrict compliance to its resolve should the strike lingers on.
He further argued that the continuation of the strike action was a deliberate attempt to disenfranchise students whose registration units are within various campuses.
“We wish to inform the general public that Nigerian students would resist any election from holding in any part of the country should our campuses remain shut till election date.”
“We are conscious layers of the nation and on no account shall we allow this sinister disenfranchisement of the largest voting population of our citizens in a major election to pass due to no fault of the students.”
“We have 22.3 million registered students, eligible to change the destiny of the nation. We refused to be sacrificed in exercising this obligatory demand to our nation at this crucial moment.”
