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From Fred Ezeh, Abuja
The newly elected President of the National Association of Nigerian Students (NANS), Lucky Emonefe, has appealed to President Bola Tinubu, to approve a national annual bursary of N200,000 to all Nigerian students across board.
Emonefe, in his first news conference, in Abuja, at the weekend, said the bursary would act as palliative to cushion the effects of the hard economic situation occasioned by the economic reforms of the government.
Emonefe, who emerged victorious in a keenly contested election that was conducted in Abuja, at the weekend, promised that NANS under his leadership, would not be a rubber-stamp to government’s decisions and policies.
“NANS shall not be used by any individual or group to advance or achieve a nefarious agenda against the state. As a result, we shall closely monitor, analyse and scrutinize government policies, as they relate to the well-being of the students and greater welfare of the Nigerian citizenry before coming up with our position on governance. Strictly speaking, our NANS is NANS for the students’ interests alone.
“As a flow from the above, we hereby, make a passionate appeal to President Tinubu to approve a national annual bursary of N200,000 to all Nigerian students, irrespective of their creed or tribe. This will cushion the effects of the hard economic situation occasioned by the economic reforms of the President.”
He commended the proposed take-off of the students’ loan scheme in January 2024, suggesting that NANS be allowed to be part of the monitoring and supervisory body for the scheme, to ensure strict compliance with the schemes’ terms and goals.
He commended the President for the decision to stop the proposed 40 percent remittance of Internally Generated Revenues (IGR) of public-owned tertiary institutions to Consolidated Revenue Account (CRA) of the Federal Government.
The new NANS Senate President, Akinteye Babatunde Afeez, confirmed that the election that brought the new NANS executives was free and fair, even though some forces had wanted to circumvent the process before the intervention of the police and other security agencies.
He appreciated the security agencies for standing their ground to ensure that the will of the students prevailed.
“That is the reflection of what we have, with students celebrating over the victory of Emonefe. The election is the voice of the majority, a popular voice; that is why they are celebrating.”
