NANS Elected New President Accuses Seyi Tinubu of Meddling

In a turn of events, Pedro Chibuzo Obi, the newly elected President of the National Association of Nigerian Students (NANS), asserted that the recent leadership transition marks a new era for tertiary education students in Nigeria. At a post-NANS National Convention press conference in Abuja on Saturday, Obi outlined his campaign’s core capacity, content, and competence principles, vowing to deploy them fully to safeguard students’ interests.

Obi, a PhD student at Delta State University, Abaraka, revealed that Seyi Tinubu was to blame for the violence witnessed at the NANS Convention venue in Abuja. According to him, Seyi Tinubu, the son of President Bola Tinubu, misused his privilege by deploying security operatives to interfere with the student body’s activities, aiming to influence the selection of the NANS President.

“The NANS National Convention, scheduled for 27th – 30th November 2023 in Abuja, saw student leaders mobilizing to elect new leadership. Regrettably, certain individuals posing as government agents took an undue interest in our organization, attempting to forcefully impose unpopular leaders against the students’ choices,” stated Obi.

He continued, “The senators resisted the imposition of Mr. Seyi Tinubu’s candidate, who is not a known student of any tertiary institution in Nigeria. The Department of State Security (DSS) was excessively deployed for partisan roles, working for Mr. Seyi Tinubu to determine who should enter the venue and who should not, unleashing mayhem on comrades and genuine student leaders who did not align with their ungodly interest.”

Despite the challenges, Obi emphasized that Nigerian students resisted the intimidations and elected the new leadership, pledging to bring his promised 3 Cs—Capacity, Content, and Competence—to bear in serving and protecting the interests of Nigerian students.

As the new administration takes charge, Obi assured that they would work with intellectual sagacity to resolve challenges while ensuring they are not tools in the hands of individuals at the expense of students’ interests. He called on the public to support the newly elected NANS President and his executives as they strive to represent the voice of the voiceless and defend the interests of Nigerian students.

Obi concluded, “Soonest, we shall have reasons to invite you again to unveil our irreducible minimum agenda for the administrative year for which we have been elected.”