The Nation Newspaper

Tag: Yinka Gbadebo

  • Inadequate power supply will end with my regime – Jonathan

    Inadequate power supply will end with my regime – Jonathan

    President Goodluck Jonathan on Friday maintained that his successor will not face the challenge of inadequate power supply in Nigeria.

    He made the remark at the Presidential Villa, Abuja, while receiving a delegation of the National Association of Nigerian Students (NANS), led by the Senior Special Assistant on Youth Affairs, Jude Imagwe and NANS President, Yinka Gbadebo.

    The President said his administration is doing everything possible to tackle electricity supply challenges in the country.

    He also reiterated the commitment of his administration to delivering free, fair and credible elections in the country.

    According to him, Nigeria will no longer be a laughing stock but be respected globally as far as credible election is concerned.

    The President assured that tertiary institutions in the country will not just be big in population but also in quality, saying he will leave no stone unturned in the efforts to return Nigerian universities to its lost glory and high standard.

    President Jonathan said he will do everything to ensure Nigerian universities are rated among the top 500 in the world.

    During the visit, he was decorated as the Grand Commander of Nigerian Students (GCNS).

    Among the delegation were 10 former NANS presidents and ‎eight former NANS senate presidents, Student Union Presidents in universities, polytechnics, monotechnics and colleges of education.‎

    Thanking the students, the President said the award and words of encouragement will spur his administration to do more.

    “To whom much is given more is expected,” he stated.

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  • NANS begs govt, lecturers to agree

    NANS begs govt, lecturers to agree

    The National Association of Nigerian Students (NANS) has pleaded with the striking lecturers of universities to consider the future of students by calling off the industrial actions.

    In a release signed by NANS president, Yinka Gbadebo, the students’ body said the strike would have negative effect on students, who it said were at the receiving end of the ugly trend.

    Saying that NANS received the news of closure of campuses with sadness, Gbadebo said: “We do not say that the Association Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) and Association Staff Union of Polytechnic (ASUP) should not agitate for their demands from the Federal Government, but we remain dissatisfied with the fact that the striking lecturers would take grave decisions without considering the plight and views of students, in whose interest the strike was ostensibly embarked upon.”

    Stressing that NANS would neither hold brief for lecturers nor take side with the Federal Government, Gbadebo asserted that ASUU and ASUP should shelve the strike in interest of students.

    His words: “Since the inception of ASUU in 1978, its stance of embarking on strikes and shutting down our universities has constantly left students writhing in endless pains.

    “Between 1999 and 2012, ASUU has embarked on a total of 30 months of strike out of the possible 156 months within this period. Lecturers in our universities have been out of class more often in the last 13 years. This is equivalent to over seven academic semesters of four months each or accurately put, four academic sessions. This is not fair and we urged the lecturers to be back on campus immediately.”

    In a telephone interview with CAMPUSLIFE, the NANS Public Relations Officer (PRO), Victor Olaogun, urged the government to reach out to the striking lecturers in the interest of justice and security of the country.

    He said that since the strike began, the Federal Government had not been forthcoming on solution to get the lecturers back on campuses, thereby mortgaging the future of students.

    He said: “If the students continue to stay at home doing nothing, things may get out of hand because they will start to think about anything to do rather than just sitting down. This, no doubt, may increase cases of armed robbery, rape, thuggery, prostitution, kidnapping and other vices. An idle hand is the devil’s workshop.

    “Since the beginning of the strike, NANS has staged peace protests across the country but all to no avail. We had a meeting with the Minister of Education, who told us that they have settled everything with ASUP. She said government didn’t know the reason why polytechnic lecturers were on strike. We also had series of meetings with the unions, they told us that the government had abandoned them since the industrial actions started. The point is: we don’t know who is fooling who.”

    “We are appealing to both unions to consider the plight of students because the staying at home of the students could do some damage to our future. Government should do something fast in the interest of the academic future of this nation.”

     

     

  • Yinka Gbadebo Sworn in as new NANS President

    Yinka Gbadebo Sworn in as new NANS President

    Com. Yinka Gbadebo, the newly elected President of the National Association of Nigerian Students was last Thursday sworn in as them legitimate and democratic 27th President of the association.

    The inauguration ceremony which took place at the Abuja International Conference Centre with the theme “Repositioning Nigerian Students for National Socio-political Development’’ had the crème de la crème of the society in attendance and these include the: Imo State Governor, Owelle Rochas Okorocha; Engr. Jide Adeniji, Chairman, Governinig Board of the Federal Roads Maintenance Agency (FERMA); Professor Sidi Osho, Vice Chancellor, AfeBabalolaUniversity, Ado-Ekiti; and Com. Jude Imagwe, SSA to President Goodluck Jonathan on Students and Youth Affairs who represented the Nigerian President at the event.

    Shortly after Yinka Gbadebo, who was welcomed up stage with the inspirational and highly-spirited Great Ife anthem, was sworn in, he observed his first constitutional duty as he made his other official members take the oath office to serve the utmost interest of the association

    Those who took the oath include: Comrade Jubril Ahmed, Vice President, National Affairs (A.BU. Zaria); Comrade Peculiar Asemota, Vice President External Affairs (A.A.U. Ekpoma); Comrade Ubon Marcus, Vice President Special Duties (UNIUYO); Comrade Olaogun Victor, National P.R.O Comrade (Federal Poly, Offa); Olusina Oyebisi, Director Travels and Exchange (FUT, Minna); Comrade Kalib Abubakar, Director of Sports (Kano State University); Comrade Alaofin Blessing, Ex-Officio1 Comrade (Kogi State University) Others include: Onukaogu Donald, Senate President (FUT, Owerri); Comrade Shima John, Deputy Senate President (BSU, Makurdi); Com.

    Daniel Munir Momodu, Secretary General (OAU, Ile-Ife); and Com. Ali Abdullahi Mohammed, Assistant Secretary General (Kano State Polytechnic).

    Shortly after that, Engr. Jide Adeniji, the first patron of NANS since 2005 was decorated with the Grand Patronship title. Engr. Adeniji has won several awards which include but not limited to: ICON of Leadership Award for the recognition of his leadership quality in 2005; One of the 50 Outstanding University of Ife

    Alumni by the GUARDIAN Newspapers (2009) and his was made the Grand Patron of Niger Delta Students Association in 2009.

    Governor Rochas Okorocha of Imo State was also given ‘Life Membership’ of the association, a honour the governor described as instrumental to the development of NANS.

    Governor Rochas Okorocha has, however, promised never to neglect them and also assured NANS that he would embark on some of the campus tours with the leaders of the association. In his appreciation speech, the Governor also promised to send some of the NANS leaders to China to learn how things are done rightly and progressively by the youths. He maintained that NANS is a very instrumental association to the development of Nigeria because it controls the minds of the heart of the nation, that si the youths.

    Past Presidents of NANS also graced the occasion and the legitimacy of Com. Yinka Gbadebo was perfectly and boldly declared against the activities of two presidential candidates who lost woefully at the poll during the NANS Convention last December where Com. Gbadebo was declared the absolute winner.

  • NANS seeks revolution in education sector

    NANS seeks revolution in education sector

    The newly elected National President, National Association of Nigerian Students, (NANS), Mr. Yinka Gbadebo, on Wednesday decried the rot in the education sector of the country.

    Gbadebo, who observed this in a chat with the News Agency of Nigeria) in Lagos, added that the sector needed a `serious revolution` to correct all abnormalities.

    “There is an urgent need for a declaration of an emergency in the education sector, — so as to revamp it and have qualitative education, “ he said.

    He lamented that both federal and state governments have not been giving the sector enough attention over the years.

    The NANS president said the governments had been depriving higher institutions of funds, thereby causing dearth of lecturers.

    “Qualified manpower to administer our educational institutions have left the country due to poor remuneration and inadequate research funds, “ he said.

    Gbadebo, however, called on all stakeholders, including Vice-Chancellors, Rectors and Provosts, to rally round government to revamp the sector.