Lagos Students Pledge Support for APC-led Government

Funmi Ogundare

Students of major tertiary institutions in Lagos recently held a rally at Onikan Stadium promising to support the APC-led government in the state for a second term during the February 25 general elections

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They were from the University of Lagos (UNILAG), Lagos State University (LASU), Lagos State University of Science and Technology (LASUSTECH) and Lagos State University of Education (LASUED).

The students, led by the National Public Relations Officer of the National Association of Nigerian Students (NANS), Ishaq Giwa, stated that their over four million members in Lagos have decided to vote for Bola Tinubu and Babajide Sanwo-Olu. They said their decision was based on the candidates’ contributions to education and human development in the state.

According to them, the recent upgrade of the colleges of education and a polytechnic further convinced them that giving Tinubu and Sanwo-Olu their votes would bring more development to education in Lagos.

Presenting the governor a certificate of endorsement, Giwa described him as being super active in governance.

He​ promised​ that the students would often be available to work with Tinubu and Sanwo-Olu, so as to achieve their dream during the upcoming polls in the state.

The Lagos NANS Chairman, Tolulope Olusesi, said the priority accorded the tertiary education in Lagos by the Sanwo-Olu administration was unrivalled, describing the upgrade of former Lagos State Polytechnic and Adeniran Ogunsanya College of Education as top-notch.

Students’ Union President of LASU, Adeoye Adelakun, said the tertiary education programmes and policies implemented by the governor were designed to support students’ academic aspirations.

Under the Sanwo-Olu administration, the LASU union president said the school had its standards raised and rose to become the best state-owned university in the country. He added that the governor complemented his support for LASU with the building of a magnificent students’ arcade for union activities.

The president said the students resolved to reciprocate the governor’s gesture by giving him support for the second term, stressing that Sanwo-Olu’s re-election would enhance education value in Lagos.

​“This endorsement rally is quite significant and it is different from what others have been doing. We are students and we are direct beneficiaries of Sanwo-Olu’s education programmes,” he stated. “We have seen the first-hand impacts of the governor’s policies and we are out here to appreciate these efforts.”

He​ thanked the governor for upholding the academic standard of the university.​ ​

Also,​ the Student Union leader for LASUED, Samuel Okechukwu, said the APC has made the state conducive for non-indigenes to achieve their dreams, saying that he never believed that he could lead a school in Lagos.​ ​

Also speaking at the rally, president of the National Union of Lagos State Students (NULASS), Shasanya Akinola, said the students were encouraged to support the two principal contestants because of their antecedents, adding that Tinubu was the one who established local bursary and scholarship to support indigent students to realise their dream.

“He created different platforms for students to strive and achieve quality education. He equally gives bursary to non-indigenes to ensure they have access to education,” stated Akinola, adding that the governor has raised the bar of education by driving quality education in accordance with SDG goal 4.

He said it was also remarkable to note how Sanwo-Olu evacuated​ stranded students of the University of Jos who are of Lagos State origin or residence, adding that he is optimistic that the issue of federal scholarship would be reviewed if Tinubu is elected.

Accepting the endorsement on behalf of himself and Tinubu, Sanwo-Olu described the students’ gesture as a morale booster in their ongoing campaign for the 2023 polls.

The Special Adviser to Governor Sanwo-Olu on Education, Mr. Tokunbo Wahab, stated that such an endorsement​ rally by students was unprecedented. He noted that though there could be students of certain institutions endorsing one politician or the other in the past, but for all​ students of tertiary institutions in the state,​ endorsing a sitting governor for a second term is interesting. He attributed Sanwo-Olu’s general endorsement to his leadership quality, noting that he has a vision for greater Lagos through governance and he has started working towards that from the day he was sworn in.

“The third pillar of his administration’s six pillar development agenda dwells on education and technology. The administration has been so proactive in implementing various reforms geared towards making the educational system in the state a model for the country and beyond. It is only in Lagos that a state can establish two universities at the same time. Not only that, the governor had secured all necessary certificates of recognition for​ LASUED and LASUSTECH, the two universities are admitting students that sat for the 2022/23 academic exercise as we speak.

“In addition to this, when the governor came into office in 2019, he reviewed the contents of the programme, which used to be known as, ‘Ready-Set- Go’,​ to become Jobs initiatives Lagos (JIL). Ready-Set-Go was designed for final year students of only Lagos state-owned institutions.​ Upon its review by this administration, the governor directed that JIL​ should be redesigned for the penultimate and final year students of all tertiary institutions in the state, whether federal or state-owned.”​ ​

The JIL, Wahab stated, has empowered close to 100,000 students across all tertiary institutions in the state, adding that the administration of Mr Babajide Sanwo Olu has improved the welfare of students and staff of all the state-owned tertiary institutions not only through regular and efficient allocations to manage their academic programmes, but several interventions in critical areas such as infrastructure etc.

The special adviser disclosed that all the federal and state-owned tertiary institutions would be assisted and allocated​ brand new Bus Rapid Transport (BRT), to ease transportation in their respective institutions, adding that, the governor has also completed and commissioned the biggest students arcade in LASU popularly known as LASU Arcade.​

“It is the best and the biggest SUG infrastructure around the country.​ Not only this, an 8, 272-bed space hostel is nearing completion at LASU, which Mr governor has promised to replicate in the two new universities as well,” he stressed.

Speaking on behalf of the beneficiaries of the new BRT buses, the newly appointed Vice-Chancellor of LASUED, Prof. Bidemi Biliks Lafiaji Okunneye, commended the governor for his leadership quality and administrative excellence. She noted that institutions in the state have been relatively peaceful since 2019 when he became governor. She stated that the endorsement rally by the students of all institutions in the state was a demonstration of the love of the students to the governor.

“You will just like the governor. He is an administrator per excellence. He has set for his administration a six-pillar​ development agenda to achieve the vision for a greater​ Lagos and he is achieving it in all sectors.”