NANS opts out of protest, urges Nigerian Govt to address hardship
The National Association of Nigerian Students, NANS, has pledged that it will not get involved in the planned nationwide protest scheduled for August 1, over hardship in the country.
The National President of NANS, Lucky Emonefe, disclosed this at a meeting with the Minister of Education, Prof. Tahir Mamman, in Abuja on Friday.
According to the News Agency of Nigeria, the meeting was led by the Senior Special Assistant to the President on Student Engagement, Sunday Asefon.
Emonefe acknowledged the significant hardship being experienced by citizens across the country due to the implementation of recent reforms and policies by the government.
He said the measures, though aimed at steering the nation towards sustainable development, had undoubtedly brought about economic challenges that had impacted every Nigerian household.
Emonefe urged President Bola Tinubu to put a mechanism in place to alleviate the hunger among Nigerians as a result of hardship occasioned by the removal of fuel subsidy in 2023.
“We want to say that there is hunger in the land and Nigerian students are most affected. We are aware that palliatives were given to governors.
“We are saying that as the government is distributing palliatives, they should remember the student constituencies.
“Though we have challenges, we want to say that we have resolved to be law abiding and not to join any chaos in the society,” he said.
Earlier, the Minister of Education, Prof. Tahir Mamman, had acknowledged the rising cost of living in the country.
Mamman said that the government had been rolling out palliatives and measures to cushion the hardship being faced by Nigerians.
According to him, the Federal Government has launched an expanded transformative scholarship programme, aimed at supporting the education of 45,000 students across the country.
Mamman said the initiative highlighted the federal government’s commitment to broaden educational access and advance the academic and professional growth of Nigerian youth.
