The National Association of Nigerian Students (NANS) on Sunday threatened to disrupt the forthcoming parties’ primaries in Abuja.
The students’ body disclosed this in a statement titled: “End ASUU strike or forget political activities in Abuja,” signed by its President, Sunday Asefon.
The country’s two major political parties – All Progressives Congress (APC) and Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) have scheduled their respective primaries for this month in Abuja.
NANS, however, said no primaries would take place until the Federal Government ended ASUU’s 66-day-old strike.
It particularly slammed the Minister of State for Education, Emeka Nwajiuba and Minister of Labour and Employment, Chris Ngige, for showing lack of concern to the students’ plights and paying N100million to purchase the APC presidential forms.
ASUU embarked had embarked on a 30- day warning strike on February 14 to protest the federal government’s failure to honour agreements signed by both parties.
The union extended the strike by another eight weeks on March 14 over the government’s recalcitrant position on the matter.
The union’s demands include revitalisation of public universities, payment of earned academic allowances, adoption of the University Transparency Accountability Solution (UTAS) as a payment platform and payment of promotion arrears, among others.
The statement read: “We have also in the past weeks seen those saddled with great responsibility in the education sector and those saddled with responsibilities of resolving labour crises declaring interest to contest for the seat of the President come 2023.
“We are surprised by their effrontery and total disrespect to the Nigerian people for having the courage to even mute the idea of contesting let alone picking up the 100million naira presidential form while students languish at home because of their collective failures.
“Politicians have shown no concern to the plight of the students but are only busy in their selfish and inordinate ambitions to become the next President.
“Let me say without mincing words, the two major political parties should forget any political gathering in Abuja except there is a solution to the lingering ASUU strike.
“We will frustrate all the activities leading to the selection of party candidates if we remain on strike. We also want to advise the government and the politicians who are busy campaigning to be President to either resolve the ASUU crises or give direct orders to the security operative to shoot us at the site during party conventions to select a presidential candidate. If we remain on strike, they should just forget it.”
