By Derrick Bangura
The National Association of Nigerian Students (NANS) has advised the two biggest political parties – the All Progressives Congress (APC) and the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) – to discontinue plans for their national conventions to select their respective presidential candidates in Abuja this month.
This is just as Vice President Prof. Yemi Osinbajo has pleaded with ASUU to embrace dialogue as a means to resolving the lingering dispute between it and the federal government.
NAN specifically vowed to “frustrate all the activities leading to the selection of party candidates if we remain on strike.”
The students’ body warned the two political parties to either ensure that the industrial action was called off or forget about holding their presidential primaries in Abuja.
In a statement titled, “End ASUU Strike or Forget Political Activities in Abuja,” signed by its President, Sunday Asefon, the association said: “Politicians have shown no concern to the plight of the students but are only busy in their selfish and inordinate ambitions to become the next president.
“Let me say without mincing words, the two major political parties should forget any political gathering in Abuja or elsewhere except there is a solution to the lingering ASUU strike.
“We will frustrate all the activities leading to the selection of party candidates if we remain on strike.”
“We also want to advise the government and the politicians who are busy campaigning to be president to either resolve the ASUU crises or give direct orders to the security operatives to shoot us at the site during party conventions to select a presidential candidate. If we remain on strike, they should just forget it.”
NANS also expressed displeasure over what they called the abandonment of negotiations with ASUU by the Minister of Labour, Dr. Chris Ngige and the Minister of State for Education, Emeka Nwajiuba, for presidential ambition.
Ngige and Nwajiube recently purchased APC Nomination and Expression of lnterest forms at a whopping cost of N100 million each.
“We have also in the past weeks seen those saddled with great responsibility in the education sector and those saddled with responsibilities of resolving labour crises declaring interest to contest for the seat of the President come 2023.
“We are surprised by their effrontery and total disrespect to the Nigerian people for having the courage to even mute the idea of contesting talkless of picking up the N100 million presidential forms while students languish at home because of their collective failures,” NANS added.