Fidelis David in Akure
Concerned members of the National Association of Ondo State Students (NAOSS), yesterday called on the Governor of Ondo State, Mr. Rotimi Akeredolu to cancel the association’s election, which was held on Sunday, October 10, 2021, to avoid crisis in the state.
It was gathered that the NAOSS’s election, which was held amid heavy security personnel at Adegbemile Cultural Centre in Akure, produced two parallel executives that were led by two female students, Ms. Grace Atoyebi and Ms. Mary Ogunga.
In a letter made available to THISDAY, which was signed by Mr. Awolola Seyi, Mr. Dele Adelabu and Mr. Ayo Fasasi and address to the state governor, the students pleaded that Akeredolu should use his “good offices to address this situation immediately and call for a fresh election as it has happened in 2013 or else there will be crises in the state.”
The letter reads: “There was no accreditation of senators (Voters) on the supposed election day as people with no identity were called in without any means of identification (either their state of origin or their institution.
“There could have been no election held on October 10, 2021, as against the stipulated day, October 9, 2021) because late in the evening on the October 9, the leadership of the association agreed unanimously on the postponement of the electoral process indefinitely.
“The senators had not constituted an electoral committee as dictated by the constitution as at the time of the indefinite postponement; none of the self-acclaimed presidents were declared at the venue of the said election- the security agencies can attest to this.
“Section 47, Sub-section 1 of the NAOSS’s constitution stated that ‘an election to the central executive council shall only be held on every last Saturday of November’ and not on a Sunday.
“Section 47, Sub-section 7 of the NAOSS’s constitution stated that ‘no two of (sic) the central executive council namely president, senate president, treasurer and financial secretary shall come from the same institution;’ this implies that one Oyelade Olawale, an aspirant for the position of NAOSS senate president, a student of Federal University of Technology, Akure, and one Balogun Olamide an aspirant for the position of financial secretary in the said election.
“Also, the students of the Federal University of Technology, Akure, who were declared winners of the respective positions by the self-acclaimed electoral chairman, Ebisanmi Kayode, should be stopped from parading themselves as winners and the election should be cancelled immediately.”
It explained that “Section 21, Sub-Section 1 of the NAOSS (National Body) states that ‘there shall be a senate house for the association, which shall consist of all the presidents and general secretaries of all local chapters affiliated to the association” this implied that one Akinbola Abimbola Florence who was declared winner of the Clerk of the Senate by one Ebisanmi Kayode who claimed to be the electoral chairman should be stopped immediately from parading herself as the clerk-elect because she is not the President nor Secretary of her local chapter (College of Health Technology, Akure); thus, she is not a senator and could not have been elected the clerk of the NAOSS-Senate Arm.
“Section 22, Sub-section 1 of the NAOSS constitution states that ‘there shall be president and deputy senate president of the senate, who shall be elected by the members of the house from among themselves.’
“Hence, it is evil and totally unacceptable for one Ekundayo Usman who also claimed to be the electoral chairman of the electoral committee to have declared one Apanisile Margaret, a student of College of Health Technology, Akure, as the deputy senate president of the association even when she did not obtain the nomination form for the office nor campaigned at any point in time before and during the supposed election.
“Section 49, Sub-section 1b of NAOSS constitution states that ‘no person shall be qualified in election to the central executive council of the association; If he or she is not a member of this Association and he or she is not sponsored by his or her institution’- this implies that one of the presidential aspirants in the person of Atoyebi Grace Aderonke should be disqualified prior to the conduct of the said election and henceforth should be stopped from parading herself as president because she is a graduate of Environmental Health at the College of Health Technology, Offa, Kwara State; she wrote her final exams as an HND 2 student of that institution June, 202 (sic).
It added that, “Section 48, Sub-section 1(III) of the NAOSS constitution states that ‘a person shall be qualified for election to the office of Ccntral executive council of this association if he has been admitted/matriculated to that institution for a minimum of two sessions or its equivalent”- this implies that Ogunga Mary Ibiyemi, a 200L student of Adekunle Ajasin University, Akungba-Akoko, who is currently in first semester and has not spent the “minimum of two sessions in school” as required by the constitution of the association is not eligible to contest and should be stopped immediately from parading herself as the president-elect of the association.”
