Kuni Tyessi
The National Association of Nigerian Students (NANS), has absolved itself from a report calling for the sack of the Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Mr. Godwin Emefiele.
NANS Vice President (Special Duties), Odiahi Thomas Ikhine, stated this while addressing a press conference in Abuja yesterday.
He said some faceless individuals who paraded themselves as the leadership of the NANS (Zone D) had demanded the sack of Emefiele over what they had described as the bastardisation of the nation’s economy.
“Let it be expressly clear that these impostors are neither students nor leadership of NANS in the South-west but rather political jobbers readily available for the highest bidders for the campaign of calumny against politically exposed persons for the purpose of blackmailing or settling political scores. “We, therefore, wish to dissociate ourselves and the name of our organisation from the unpatriotic call for the sack of the CBN Governor.
“It is our belief that the CBN governor needed to be given moral support to develop monetary policy strategy that will serve as an economic palliative for our nation at this time of global economic gloom.
“We call on security agencies to do their best in bringing impostors who go about heating polity and engaging in actions capable of affecting national security and stability to book especially at this time of fragile national security experience,” Ikhine said.
Meanwhile, the students body has disclosed that the current leadership of the association was in the process of transiting power to the next administration.
According to him, NANS has arrived at a constitution decision that would ensure that only students vie for leadership positions.
“The transition process is on and as it is now, a NANS president cannot stay more than 13 months, 12 months officially then three months of grace period. So as it is now we are expecting that the convention is not going to exceed this August.
“This month end, from all indication this administration will transit power to an organisation that will be run based on available rules and regulations in the constitution. “What we are going to ensure now is, if you are not a student in an institution in the country you cannot hold any office in NANS.”
On the issue of the ongoing Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) strike, he said NAN would not relent in its effort to ensure the right thing was done.
“The issue of ASUU strike, as an organisation we are actually doing our best. We have been able to pressure the government over time and ASUU and just recently the Nigeria Labour Congress called for a protest and we joined them and as it is we are not relenting.
“Obviously, we cannot do otherwise and I wish we can but this week we intend to reach with government.”
