ASUU STRIKE: NANS FACTIONS ENGAGE IN FREE-FOR-ALL FIGHT

Two NANS factions clashed at the Unity Fountain , Maitama, Abuja , following the leadership tussle rocking the association .

Some of the NANS members threw caution to the wind and engaged one another in fisticuffs on the busy Shehu Shagari Way while policemen struggled to break up the fight .

Trouble started when the Kadiri faction converged on the garden to address the media before taking their protest to the education ministry .

They were about addressing journalists when the Chinonso Obasi faction stormed the venue and accused Kadiri of usurping the leadership of the student body .

The allegation angered the Kadiri faction members who attacked their opponents leading to a free- for - all on the expressway .

Meanwhile , the University of Port Harcourt Alumni Association has called on the FG to utilise the funds said to have been recovered from alleged looters to meet the financial component of the demands of the university lecturers .

In a statement , the National President of the Association, Chief Chris Adokeme , contended that the annual requirement of N200 bn for five years consecutively “ was too meagre to allow university education in the country to be under lock and key . ”

“ How can universities in the country remain shut when all that is required is a mere N 200bn annually ? That is far less than what goes into the National Assembly for a year. I will prefer the legislature to be shut for one year instead of our universities , ” he said .

Adokeme also called for adequate funding of TETFund to enable it to effectively discharge its obligations to the universities.

NANS declares three-day prayer for Buhari

The National Association of Nigerian Students on Monday declared three days prayers for the quick recovery and early return of President Muhammadu Buhari.

The prayer was declared by the President of NANS, Chinonso Obasi, in a statement obtained by journalists in Abuja.
According to him, Christian and Muslim students should round off the prayers during the Friday Jumat and Sunday services nationwide.
He said, “Nigerian students would within the three days starting from Wednesday March February 8, 2017, join other patriotic citizens to intercede on behalf of the President, who has been on extended medical vacation in the United Kingdom.
“As leaders of tomorrow and champions of a better Nigeria, we should not be left out in the national call for prayers for the President, especially now that his presence is eagerly needed for the country to navigate its way out of economic recession and political despair.

“We therefore enjoin every student in Nigeria’s tertiary institution to join their hearts in prayer to God to heal our President, because we believe that the prayers of 40 million Nigerian students would bring quick recovery and rejuvenation of President Buhari.”
Obasi expressed optimism that the early return of the President to the country would “increase the tempo of the anti-corruption battle which is the cornerstone of his mandate.”

He said, “As NANS has elected to take up the challenge of whistle blowing to assist in the fight against institutional and official corruption, our hearts go out to God in prayer for the captain of the anti-corruption armada, President Muhammadu Buhari.
“We expect that when the President returns, the battle against graft would get into full throttle and branch in academic institutions where the cancer has eaten deep, threatening the destiny of millions of Nigerian students.