—-Urges govt to allow NANS produce its leadership 

By Etop Ekanem

As the National Association of Nigerian Students (NANS) prepares for its national convention, Comrade Rioborue Deniran, national president of NANS (factional) has charged the leadership of the student body to embrace peace, unity and chart a way forward.

Deniran who stated this in his New Year message to Nigerian students, however, urged the government to allow NANS produce their leaders so that whoever emerges in an exclusive independent NANS convention can work with the government with utmost sincerity.

According to him, “As we enter the new year, I reflect on the journey that has brought us to where we are today.  The prolonged and protracted 2023 NANS national convention marred by critical and a shootout led to the emergence of a tripartite factional leadership of NANS (Rioborue Deniran, Pedro Chibuzor Obi and Lucky Emonefe).”

He stated that, as the tenure elapses and the transition process sets on motion, it is imperative to think about the way forward and chart a way for peace in order not to give the association a more divisive leadership, saying this is a direct call for a unity convention.

He stressed that, as his co-presidents, Pedro Chibuzor Obi  and Lucky Emonefe set up convention planning committee with  Armstrong Ovie Afabor and Koyoyo Urhoro as chairpersons,  he advised that stakeholders of the zone should converge and collapse the two committees into one with Armstrong Ovie Afabor as chairman while Koyoyo Urhoro as deputy or both can also serve as co-chairmen.                            He maintained  that, as a lover of peace and as encapsulated in his Renewed NANS manifesto, he decided to slow down his activities for the image of the organization, and not to cluster the already tense atmosphere in the transition process.

Deniran, however, want the government to henceforth prioritize the welfare and well-being of Nigerian students and possibly convert the NELFUNDS scheme to a student loan scheme without repayment, saying if government can allocate huge amount of non-repayable funds for purpose of pilgrimage yearly, there is no reason the government cannot do the same for the education of her citizens.