IBADAN, Nigeria (VOICE Of NAIJA)- The National Association of Nigerian Students (NANS) has moved its protest from Iwo road to the venue of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) stakeholders’ meeting in Ibadan, Oyo state.
According to a statement signed by NANS Vice President, External Affairs, Akinteye Babatunde and Public Relations Officer, Giwa Yisa Temitope, the move became necessary over the failure of the PDP Presidential Candidate, Abubakar Atiku to show solidarity with the students.
The spokesperson of the association, Giwa Yetunde, said in a statement that the PDP as an opposition party has failed to stand with students since the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) began the industrial action in February.
The statement read, “Our attention has just been drawn to the fact that there would be a stakeholders’ meeting of the South West Peoples’ Democratic Party today in Ibadan in preparation for the 2023 General elections.
“It is of significant note that since the commencement of this industrial action by the national leadership of Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU), the Presidential candidate of the Party has not find it worthy to in anyway solidarise with the Nigerian students and lecturers despite the fact that this strike action is taking its toll on both students and lecturers. Of importance is even the fact that we have not seen or read his blueprint on the educational sector as a Presidential candidate.
The students association argues that Mr Atiku’s disposition to the students’ plight “sends a very bad signal to the generality of Nigerian students that the ruling elite do not have our interests at heart and that there is no difference between the PDP and the All Progressives Congress.”
“It is based on the foregoing that we declare that the Ibadan protest scheduled to hold at Iwo Road shall be moved down to the venue of the PDP’s gathering from wherever our convergence point is,” the statement read in part.
The federal government, through the Ministry of Labour and Employment, has filed a suit against ASUU at the National Industrial Court, urging the court to compel the union to go back to work while negotiations are being finalised.