The National Association of Nigerian Students, NANS, has asked President Bola Tinubu to remove the Nigerian Bar Association, NBA and the Academic Staff Union of Universities, ASUU from the board of the Nigerian Education Loan Fund, as proposed by the students’ loan bill signed into law on Monday.
The student body stated this during a visit to President Tinubu at the State House on Tuesday.
Speaking to State House Correspondents after engagements with the President, the NANS delegation, led by the body’s National President, Umar Barambu, revealed that they urged him to review the constitution of the special committee that will oversee the new Nigerian Education Loan Fund to include student representatives.
The NANS President said, “We thank the President for the Students Loan Bill. We have outlined the clauses that we are not too comfortable with.
“And part of them is the issue of that board that we mentioned to the President, which we said at least students’ representatives should be captured and there are some organisations that they put there, which to us, they don’t need to be there.
“We gave him an example, most especially the Nigerian Bar Association, ASUU. ASUU has its own microfinance bank running its own affairs without students on its board. So, I don’t think it’s wise for us to allow them to be inside our own board because it is purely students.
“We are the major stakeholders of that bank. So I don’t think allowing them to be there is good. Not only them, but we also mentioned a lot of people that they should remove and put more of student-oriented organisation.”
In response, the President promised to consider the requests of the NANS leaders but urged the students body to ensure unity among its members across the country to achieve more.
“You have to promote unity and stability among each other. You have to employ democratic means in your programmes and elections. I have to say, anyone who is unable to accept and celebrate a free and fair election, does not deserve the joy of victory,” Tinubu said.
The President stressed that poverty should not prevent any Nigerian from obtaining quality education at the highest levels.
