The National Association of Nigerian Students (NANS) urged President Bola Tinubu to remove the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) from being board members of the committee that will oversee the implementation of the newly approved student loan bill.
NANS made the call on Tuesday the association’s National President, Umar Barambu led a delegation to pay a visit to the president in Abuja.
Barambu who spoke with newsmen shortly after the meeting with the president thanked him for the Students Loan Bill however called for the review the constitution of the special committee that will oversee the new Nigerian Education Loan Fund to include student representatives.
His words: “We have outlined the clauses that we are not too comfortable with. And part of them is the issue of that board that we mentioned to the President, which we said at least students’ representatives should be captured and there are some organisations that they put there, which to us, they don’t need to be there.
“We gave him an example, most especially the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA), the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) amongst many others have their own microfinance bank running their own affairs without students on their board. So, I don’t think it’s wise for us to allow them to be inside our own board because it is purely students.
“We are the major stakeholders of that bank. So I don’t think allowing them to be there is good. Not only them, we mentioned a lot of people that they should remove and put more of student-oriented organisation.
Tinubu while responding to their request pledged to give it consideration as well as urged the students’ body to ensure unity among its members across the country to achieve more.
“You have to promote unity and stability among each other. You have to employ democratic means in your programmes and elections. I have to say anyone who is unable to accept and celebrate a free and fair election, does not deserve the joy of victory,” Tinubu said.
Tinubu pointed that poverty should not prevent any Nigerian from obtaining quality education at the highest levels.
He reiterated his administration’s commitment to dedicate more resources to the education sector to ensure that every Nigerian child, regardless of their background, has access to quality education.
“Poverty should not prevent anybody, any child, including the daughter or son of a wood seller, ‘boli’ (plantain) seller or yam seller from attaining their highest standard of education, to eliminate poverty,” Tinubu said when he received the leadership of the National Association of Nigerian Students at the State House, Abuja.
“If we all believe that education is the greatest weapon against poverty, then we have to invest in it. If you eliminate poverty from one family, you can carry the rest of the weight,” the President said.
Furthermore, he applauded the students for supporting the removal of subsidy on petrol, explaining the reasons behind the decision and the need to curb smuggling.