Secret Reporters No place to hide
Secret Reporters
The Federal Government has been doing all it can to stifle opposition against its decision to remove Subsidy from PMS, this is evident in the way it bribed Student Leaders who had already vowed to resist the policy and Protest against it, Secret Reporters has learnt.
Immediately after the Government announced the removal of subsidy on PMS, the National Association of Nigeria Students (NANAS) President, Mr Tijani Usman had released a Statement condemning the decision and promised to lock down all Institutions in protest of what he described as an ‘Anti-poor’ policy.
The South West branch of the Association, announced a decision to call a Congress of all Student’s in the area on May at Federal College of Plantation in Ibadan where the Mass of Student’s that attended declared that the Association must resist the fee-hike in PMS, and also mobilize to protest against it.
According to the Constitution of the Association, the decision of the Congress is final and binding on any Member and Leader of the Association.
On Monday 17th of May, we gathered from reliable sources that he Department of State Services (DSS) invited the NANS leaders in each to a meeting in Abuja, the same way the NNPC invited the NANS President and some other student leaders to a meeting same day.
We can confirm that the NANS President Tijani Usman met with the Hon Minister of State for Petroleum, Ibe Kachikwu who tried to lobby him to support Government on the issue of Deregulation. At the end the Minister promised to release a sum of 5 million Naira to the Association to calm all nerves and to serve as demobilization fee.
Meanwhile the South-West Leaders who had just held a Congress on that same day where flown courtesy of DSS to Abuja for the Meeting. In the Meeting in Abuja were the following people, Tijani Usman (NANS President), and his National Executives except the National Vice President (National), Okikiola (NANS South West Co-ordinator) and his Executives,, some acclaimed ‘Stakeholders’ from the South West led by Tajudeen Ajayi popularly known as Osama, Adebayo Ayiti, the Chairman of State Chapter’s in the South West, and other representatives from other Regions in the Country.
They were attended to by the Director-General of the Department of State- Service who warned them of what opposition to Government would cost them, our source confided. The Director General of the DSS after the meeting with the NANS which lasted till night leaders also released the sum of 1.5million naira for De-Mobilization. It also paid for the flight tickets of the South West Leaders back to Lagos.
The following day, the Same NANS President who had threatened to lock down all tertiary institutions, made a U-turn, and released another Statement supporting the removal of fuel Subsidy, while the South West branch held a Press Conference on Thursday supporting the policy after the Highest Decision making body called the Congress had already made a decision to protest against it.
“However, it appears the Association is been divided along political lines as some Executives who are suspected to be loyal to the PDP were left out of the Sharing formula for the money and also not invited to the Abuja meeting”, narrated a source.
Thus the Deputy Coordinator of the South West branch addressed a Press- Conference where he disassociated himself from any meeting with Government and as threatened led Students for a mass protest as directed by their Congress. With him are the National Vice President (National) Timileyin Ayenuro, and the National Deputy Senate President: Famuyibo Segun.
This happened as a fallout of not sharing in the Abuja Largess, relayed other credible sources.
