THE NATIONAL Association of Nigerian Students (NANS) has dissociated itself from a group calling for the sack of Governor of Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) Godwin Emefiele over rising external debt and weak exchange rate of the naira to the dollar.
In a press statement issued on Monday, NANS vice president (special duties) Odiahi Ikhine described the group as “impostors”.
Ikhine also called on security agencies to prosecute members of the group for “overheating polity and engaging in actions capable of affecting national security and stability”.
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A group called NANS Zone D led by Adegboye Olatunji had called for Emefiele’s removal last week citing incompetence in the administration of the regulatory financial institution.
Reacting to the call on Monday, NANS said the umbrella student body is not a platform to ventilate political grievances and blackmail public officials.
Part of the statement reads; “We wish to dissociate ourselves and our organisation from the unpatriotic call for the sack of the CBN Governor. It is our belief that the CBN governor needed to be given moral support to develop fall back monetary strategy that will serve as an economic palliative for our nation at this time of global economic gloom.
“We are of the strong opinion that the Federal Ministry of Finance and National Planning must engage in a strategic drive to recalibrate the economy from a consuming economy to a producing economy to protect the value of the naira and reposition the economy on a stronger base”.
Ikhine added that the student umbrella body will collaborate with security agencies to ensure criminals masquerading as students are not used to threaten national security.
While asked to comment on the statement by the Minister of State for Labour and Employment, Festus Keyamo that the Federal Government cannot borrow over N1 trillion to resolve the lingering strike by the Academic Stafff Union of Universities (ASUU), Ikhine said the minister should not be taken seriously untill the Federal Government officially admits that it would no longer fund education in the country.
Sinafi Omanga is a multimedia journalist and researcher with the International Centre for Investigative Reporting. He has a keen interest in humanitarian reporting, social justice, and environment.
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