The National Association of Nigerian Students (NANS), Southwest Zone has distanced itself from endorsing any presidential candidate for the 2023 general elections.
The zone made this clarification on Thursday in a statement signed by the Coordinator of the zone, Emmanuel Adegboye, his deputy, John Alao and the Public Relations Officer, Opeoluwa Awoyinfa and made available to newsmen in Lagos.
The students’ body said it had no knowledge of the formation of the Tinubu/Shettima Students Vanguard nor all its activities including coming out publicly to endorse the candidature of Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu and Kashim Shettima as the presidential and vice presidential candidates of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in the forthcoming general elections.
They said what they know and strongly believe in is that NANS’ mandate as laid down by the founding fathers is to always stand against all forms of oppression and misrule particularly by the political leaders towards achieving good welfare and wellbeing for the general students and the masses in the country.
They said at the moment, they are still studying the political landscape and profiling various party candidates vis- a-viz their plans and programmes to see whether or not they truly have the interest of the students and the general masses at heart.
They said their choice among all the gladiators on the ground would be determined strictly by those criteria.
The group, however, said it would not have bothered to disown the so-called-Tinubu/Shettima Students Vanguard but now did so for many reasons.
They said it is not only that the group does not represent the interest of the general students as it had claimed and their leader is no longer NANS president, but most of them in the group are also actually no longer students in any school.
So, the so-called Tinubu/Shettima Students Vanguard, NANS Southwest zone emphasised, lacks the legitimacy and wherewithal to meet, make promises or enter into any contract on any issue with any individual, group or political party or even government on behalf of Nigerian students.
“That is why to us, the Tinubu/Shettima Students Vanguard is nothing but a source of income for its propagators,” NANS declared.
The students’ body said even though they would not claim to be aloof politically as the entire Nigerian students are interested in who should emerge as the next set of political leaders for the country, it is yet to endorse any candidate for now.
They said they would do so at the appropriate time and for only the candidates, who have a genuine interest in the students and the education sector and would not plunge the Nigerian economy further down the sea.
They said except for only a few, most Nigerians including students are going through hell even when they are still on earth and would not want the same situation to persist or go worse in the next dispensation.
They said Nigerians cannot afford again to make the same mistake of the past by electing the wrong people into power.
They, therefore, promised that NANS particularly the Southwest Zone would never go for money-bag politicians but rather would rally support for only those who will do well when they get to power and so we implore the politicians also not to cause confusion among the students.