TheNewsGuru

Tag: NANS

  • Petrol marketers back FG on subsidy removal; NANS threatens to shutdown Nigeria

    Petrol marketers back FG on subsidy removal; NANS threatens to shutdown Nigeria

    The Independent Petroleum Marketers Association of Nigeria (IPMAN), said yesterday, that its support for the Federal Government over the planned removal of subsidy on Premium Motor Spirit (PMS), stems from the realization that the Petroleum Industry Act (PIA) signed into law by President Muhammadu Buhari on August 16 makes no provision for subsidy.

    Besides, IPMAN President, Chinedu Okoronkwo, told the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) yesterday that his association has consistently “advised the government to remove petrol subsidy because it is not in the interest of development of the downstream sector.”

    But the National Association of Nigerian Students (NANS) threatened, yesterday, to shut down the country should the Federal Government go ahead with the planned fuel subsidy removal.

    The students’ body also rejected the government’s plan to pay N5,000 transport allowance to 40 million Nigerians to cushion the effect of soaring fuel prices.

    Okoronkwo, in the NAN interview, said: “We welcome the decision of the government to stop subsidising petrol by 2022 and we are hoping it will attract more investments to the sector, especially with the passage of PIA.”

    He added: “What we want is that a level playing field be provided for everyone in the sector to encourage competition once the subsidy is removed.”

    Also speaking on the issue, the immediate-past President, Major Oil Marketers Association of Nigeria (MOMAN), Tunji Oyebanji, said continued subsidising of petrol was not sustainable in light of current economic realities.

    He said the 2022 deadline was realistic and its impact might be mitigated with the coming on stream of the 650,000BPD Dangote Refinery, Bua Group Refinery, Waltersmith Refinery and other modular refineries.

    Oyebanji, who is the Managing Director of 11 Plc, however, faulted the plan to replace the subsidy with cash transfer to Nigerians due to lack of a reliable data base in the country.

    “In my personal opinion, I am of the view that such funds should be channeled to areas like education and mass transportation that would be accessible to ordinary Nigerians,” Mr Oyebanji said.

  • NANS dares FG to remove fuel subsidy, says ‘Nigeria will be shutdown’

    NANS dares FG to remove fuel subsidy, says ‘Nigeria will be shutdown’

    The National Association of Nigeria Students (NANS) on Friday warned the Federal Government Against removing subsidies on petroleum products.

    Zainab Ahmed, the Minister of Finance, Budget, and National Planning, had on Wednesday announced that the government would remove fuel subsidy in June 2022 and replace it with a monthly N5,000 transport grant to about 40 million poor Nigerians.

    Addressing journalists in Abuja, NANS President, Adedayo Asefon said the Federal Government embarking on such a decision will further heighten the hardship in the country.

    The students’ body also rejected the government’s plan to pay N5,000 transport allowance to 40 million Nigerians to cushion the effect of soaring fuel prices.

    “Nigeria will be shut down should the Federal Government attempt to remove the fuel subsidy as allegedly being proposed,” Asefon said.

    “It is merely an attempt to add a new dimension of economic woes upon Nigerians through this removal of fuel subsidy.

    “We wish to state further that before Federal Government can take any decision on the removal of subsidy, it must first demonstrate goodwill by ensuring that the NNPC makes the four refineries we have in this country work at full capacity to determine the exact cost of refining the products in the country.

    “Nigeria cannot continue to use this cause of the implication of the petrol as the benchmark for determining the appropriate price of the products.”

  • NANS suspends June 12 protest

    NANS suspends June 12 protest

    The National Association of Nigerian Students (NANS) has suspended its planned June 12 nationwide protest.

    The President of the association, Mr Sunday Asefon, announced the suspension in a statement made available to newsmen on Friday in Abuja.

    The statement titled, ‘NANS Suspends June 12 Protest Over Concerns About Safety Of Protesters And Fear Of Possible Hijack By Politicians’, was aimed to forestall peace in the country.

    According to the Asefon, the planned protest was aimed at decrying the insecurity in the country, especially the serial abductions of students.

    Asefon, however, said some politicians with “different agenda” have perfected plans to hijack the protest to “ventilate their political opinions and sentiments”.

    He said, “the students’ body was not associated with the secessionist campaign.

    “Having considered the current security realities and the danger to the lives of our members in case of possible hijack of the planned protest, I in consultation with all the structures of NANS, therefore, announce the suspension of our proposed protest for June 12.

    “The suspension of the protest is necessary to avoid a clash of interest and clash with security agencies that are on red alert to protect the nation’s infrastructures from security breaches on the proposed date as a result of many other protests slated for the date.

    “We intend to protest for better security and improved welfare for our students, we must therefore not put the life of any of our students at risk to ventilate our grievances,” he said.

    Asefon added that the protest was not cancelled but postponed as a new date would be announced for the demonstration later.

  • Strike: After NANS threat, ASUU convenes emergency NEC meeting

    Strike: After NANS threat, ASUU convenes emergency NEC meeting

    Following a threat issued by the National Association of Nigerian Students (NANS), the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) has called for an emergency meeting of its National Executive Council (NEC).

    TheNewsGuru.com (TNG) reports the ASUU emergency NEC meeting would be followed by a meeting between the union and the federal government on Tuesday by 4:00 PM.

    The ASUU emergency NEC meeting has been slated for Monday (today) evening to consider reports from all branches.

    The ASUU had said it was yet interfacing with its member branches to consider FG’s offer to call off the strike.

    Meanwhile, NANS had said both the FG and ASUU must resolve their differences and end the long-overdue strike before January 5, 2021.

    The union made this known in a statement released on Sunday, Dec. 20

    Comrade Sunday Asefon, the student association president threatened that if both parties don’t oblige by the given date, the association would take strategic actions.

    “The Federal Government and ASUU will face the students and tell us why we have to suffer this much,” he said.

    The union president said the ongoing strike is the longest in the history of the country.

    He explained that the strike has been long enough to be called off saying it is ridiculous that both the FG and ASUU have not found a common ground.

    The unending nature of the strike the president noted has left students with no choice but to do all it can to bring an end to the strike.

    Asefon also noted that NANS should have a third party representative in every FG and ASUU meeting for posterity sake and transparency in leadership.

  • NANS will put an end to strikes in tertiary institutions —Official

    NANS will put an end to strikes in tertiary institutions —Official

    The newly-elected Senate President of the National Association of Nigerian Students, Innocent Okafor, says the new NANS officials will ensure non-disruption of academic activities in tertiary institutions in the country.

    He said the new students’ leadership would create quality leadership to the Nigerian youths and renew their hope as major stakeholders in nation-building.

    Okafor, who hails from Anambra State, emerged victorious during the NANS election held in Abuja on Friday.

    In a statement in Awka today, he urged youths in the country to look at the future with great optimism.

    He said, “NANS will ensure peaceful coexistence and non-disruption of academic activities in tertiary institutions in the country.”

    Okafor was a former secretary and deputy coordinator of NANS Zone B comprising 75 tertiary institutions across the South-East and South-South states of Anambra, Enugu, Ebonyi, Abia, Imo, Rivers, Delta, Cross-River, Edo, and Akwa-Ibom.

  • Fuel hike: NANS dissociates from planned protest in southwest

    Fuel hike: NANS dissociates from planned protest in southwest

    The National Association of Nigerian Students (NANS) has dissociated itself from the planned protest by the alleged SouthWest Zone D chapter of the association over the recent hike in fuel pump price and electricity tariff.
    Mr Azeez Adeyemi, the National Public Relations Officer of NANS, disclosed this in a statement in Abeokuta on Sunday.

    According to Adeyemi, the NANS southwest zone D, led by Kappo Olawale had given the Federal government a five-day ultimatum to reverse the hike in the prices of fuel and electricity tariff.

    He said that the students insisted that if the government failed to reverse the prices, it would shutdown the southwest states in a mass protest on Monday.

    The NANS spokesman, however, disowned the Olawale – led group, describing them as “impostors”.

    Adeyemi insisted that the group was not recognised by the national leadership of the students’ umbrella body.

    He urged the police not to hesitate to arrest and prosecute anyone caught disturbing the peace of the country under any guise.

    Adeyemi explained that the national leadership of NANS had met in Abuja on Thursday where it was unanimously agreed that the Federal government be given a stipulated date to reverse the hike in the pump price of fuel and electricity tariff .

    Adeyemi said that NANS and other affiliate bodies had staged a protest in Abeokuta the Ogun state capital and other five southwest states last Tuesday to register their displeasure on the issue.

    “The National Association of Nigerian Students (NANS) wishes to inform the general public that it is not part of any planned protest by a group of impostors who called themselves NANS SouthWest zone D, led by one Kappo Samuel Olawale.

    “We want to put on record that the umbrella body does not recognised the Olawale – led group and would not in any way be held responsible for their actions.

    “This group of individuals are not authourised to carry out any protest in the name of NANS and we want to call on security agencies to be alive to their responsibility and arrest any one caught during the planned protest,” he said.

  • #Sexformarks: NANS president opens virtual sexual assault register

    Former Southwest Coordinator, National Association of Nigerian Students, Sunday Ashefon, has identified the ‘name and shame method’ as a viable tool to expose lecturers sexually assaulting students.

    Ashefon said ‘NANS Sexual Harassment Register’, an online register, had been opened for students who had been assaulted sexually either for marks or cash by both male and female lecturers.

    The NANS presidential aspirant and student of Ekiti State University, who made the link, https://bit.ly/2OBwzFx, available to journalists in Ado-Ekiti, the Ekiti State capital, on Saturday, described “Name and Shame as a viable weapon to expose any lecturer whose name was repeatedly mentioned by students of the same university”.

    The former NANS Southwest coordinator, who is leading the campaign, according to a statement by his Special Assistant on Media, Pelumi Fasogbon, has vowed to publish a detailed result of the poll when he eventually becomes the NANS president.

    He urged “all sexually victimized students to sign up the petition, which shall be presented to Federation of Women Lawyers, Independent Corrupt Practices Commission, Nigerian Universities Commission, Academic Staff of Nigerian universities and governing councils of tertiary institutions affected and if possible, prosecute same depending on the availability of weighty documentary evidence.

    “As NANS President, my leadership shall restore academic discipline back to campuses and never again shall students be threatened by academic or non-academic staff for success.

    “The public register is available online and we shall name-shame anyone whose name appears more than once. The era of sexual impunity is over,” Ashefon said.

     

  • FUOYE killings: God will judge you for cutting our members lives’ short, NANS tells Fayemi’s wife

    FUOYE killings: God will judge you for cutting our members lives’ short, NANS tells Fayemi’s wife

    The National Association of Nigerian Students (NANS) on Thursday said it was dismayed at the attempt by wife of Ekiti Governor Erelu Bisi Fayemi, to absolve herself of any blame over the death of two students of the Federal University, Oye Ekiti(FUOYE) on Tuesday during a protest.

    NANS accused Mrs. Fayemi of dishing out untruths in her bid to deflect the burden of blame over the death of two of its members during the protest over poor electricity supply in the bustling town.

    It declared the “Almighty God is the biggest judge and will dispense judgement as due to her.”

    NANS PRO, Comrade Adeyemi Azeez, who spoke in Abeokuta, urged the Federal Government to probe how their promising colleagues were cut down prematurely.

    Adeyemi described the fate that befell the ‘FUOYE two’ as something akin to “planned assassination” and urged all students in Ekiti and beyond to remain calm as the national leadership of NANS would take all necessary and lawful steps to compel the government of Ekiti State tell Nigerian Students the motive behind the killing of their colleagues.

    He said: “We read yesterday with dismay, the reaction of the suspected assailant where she made baseless claims but for us as students and young people who have what it takes to fight her, considering the quantum of our population, we know that God almighty is the biggest Judge and will dispense judgement as due to her.

    “In fact, Ekiti people have coined a new name for the woman which is ‘ a woman with 9 mouths’ considering the spate at which she was telling lies through her release yesterday.

    “Firstly: the Ekiti first lady said she was in the hall when the student started rampaging and allegedly destroying people vehicle.

    “This statement is too sweet to be true; can such riot act be going on outside a hall to the extent that peoples vehicle were being damaged and the owners of the vehicles remained calm in the hall?

    “Secondly as the first lady, she claimed to remain in the hall while the damages were being done, why not address the students instead of ignoring them, if truly she wasn’t wishing and praying evil for the students.

    “If truly she regard the students as her children why not speak to them instead ordering the police to be ruthless with them.

    “Also, if truly you have a heart of gold you should be concerned about what happened to the students and not running away.

    “You and your husband have the state powers and as result should be able to restore normalcy to any uproar, that is why you were elected.

    “Her husband, who used to be one of our well respected elders in NANS, is also gradually losing our respect as he has not said anything since this crises started instead he is busy fighting for security votes.

    “If we have our way we would suggest that Ekiti state security vote be removed since the governor has not been making judicious use of the ones he has been collecting which is evident in his inability to secure our students.

    “We must however note that even if your security votes is increased to N5 billion on a monthly bases, we would not still surrender the lives of our students to you.

    “We however call on the federal government to probe this killing of our students in Ekiti as this can best be described as a ‘state planed assassination.

    “Even when the rich oppresses the poor in Nigeria, it is not done in the open but the reverse was the case of Mrs. Fayemi who threw two families into sorrow and gnashing of teeth without remorse.

    “And against the expectation of mothers, Erelu as fondly called, could still lie even when the lives of two promising young Nigerians were involved.

    “This pitiable situation which has been on between the rich and the poor might graduate into a revolt of the poor in this country.

    “Despite our respect for Governor Fayemi, his wife has successfully turned our backs against each other as we would not toy with the life of any of our students.”

  • Lagos monarch’s son, two others stab NANS spokesman to death

    Lagos monarch’s son, two others stab NANS spokesman to death

    Suspected robbers last Friday stabbed to death, the spokesman for the National Association of Nigerian Students’ (NANS) Joint Campus Committee (JCC), Comrade Oshin Aderigbigbe.

    He was stabbed with a knife around 11:30am at Okokomaiko by a gang of three men, who allegedly snatched his phone and laptop.

    A statement by the police yesterday alleged that Bashiru Ahmed, 21, alias Kawu, of Okoko, the son of a popular monarch in the area, was among those who committed the crime.

    The statement, signed Bala Elkana, a Deputy Superintendent of Police (DSP), said Aderigbigbe had gone to hospital that day with blood gushing out of his body to report the crime.

    “He eventually died. The leader of the hoodlums who attacked him, Ahmed, was arrested. He confessed to have committed the crime with two of his friends now at large. Ahmed, the son of a popular traditional ruler in Okoko, is a notorious criminal, who has been charged to court on several occasions by the police.

    “He returned from the prison six months ago and has been on the watch list of the police. Police Commissioner Zubairu Muazu has ordered the transfer of the case to the State Criminal Investigation and Intelligence Department (SCIID), Panti, Yaba, Lagos for investigation.

    “Detectives are trailing the remaining two suspects,” Elkana said.

    Meanwhile, the police also on Saturday arrested Sunday Isaiah, 42, for allegedly stabbing Bukola Oluwaseun, 37, to death at a beer parlour in Agege.

    Elkana said the incident occurred around 2:45pm at Ogunbambi Street, Agege.

    He said the police received a distress call.

    Elkana said policemen from Dopemu were drafted to the scene to restore order, adding that it was discovered that the victim was stabbed in the neck with a broken bottle during a fight.

    “The victim died on the way to hospital and his body was deposited at the mortuary for post mortem. The suspect has been arrested by the police. Investigation is on and the suspect will be charged to court,” he said.

  • Face your studies, graduate with good grades before demanding employment, NNPC tells NANS

    Face your studies, graduate with good grades before demanding employment, NNPC tells NANS

    …Says no discrimination in recruitment process

    Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) has clarified that there was no discrimination in the various requirements in the corporation’s recruitment process.

    Mr Ndu Ughamadu, the NNPC Group General Manager, Group Public Affairs Division disclosed this on Monday in an interview with News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Abuja.

    The National Association of Nigerian Students (NANS) in a statement on Sunday rejected the requirement for recruitment by the NNPC alleging it was an anti-poor and anti-masses.

    The association further gave the corporation a 72-hour ultimatum to withdraw all alleged anti-poor and anti-masses conditions in the criteria.

    Also, an Abuja-based lawyer, Mr Pelumi Olajengbesi, had threatened to drag the management of the NNPC to court following what he described as “discriminatory” recruitment process.

    He vowed to approach the court to ensure protection of the fundamental rights of Nigerians who were qualified to apply but were barred from participating because of age criteria.

    “No, there was no discrimination in the criteria, If there is anything, the corporation is supposed to be commended now that it is trying to recruit to reduce the unemployment in the country.

    “Our criterion was based on carefully thought out criteria of which we carried out a survey to arrive at all those criteria that were stipulated,’’ he said.

    According to him, the corporation over the years has sustained the standard.

    He added that the recruitment criteria were of four categories which every interested Nigeria should explore.

    “There are in many categories, there are four, if you didn’t meet one category, you move to the next, if you didn’t meet the second, you go to the third and so on.

    “For the graduate trainee, we put age level at 28 years, the second 34, the third 37 and the last 40. So, any Nigerian looking for employment that falls within any of the four categories is qualified,’’ he added.

    He said that it was unfortunate that some people after attempting and were not successful alleged discriminatory in its selection process.

    Commenting on the 72 hours ultimatum by NANS to reverse the criteria or they would embark on a protest, he said that NANS should focus on their studies to graduate first with good certificates.

    “NANS should pass their examination first and graduate after which they will be qualified for employment.

    “What NANS should face now is to study very hard and graduate and make a reasonable degree. They have not graduated yet and they are looking for employment,’’ he said.

    The corporation opened a recruitment portal from March 13 to March 26 and has started short listing of qualified candidates.