Close tertiary institutions before elections, NANS urges FG

The leadership of the National Association of Nigerian Studies (NANS) has demanded that the federal government close tertiary institutions until after the general election.

Through the Vice President (External Affairs), Akinteye Babatunde, the students’ umbrella body said such declaration will enable Nigerian students to get their Permanent Voter Cards (PVCs) and vote.

The NANS leadership specifically requested that the federal government direct the National Universities Commission (NUC), the National Board for Technical Education (NBTE), and the National Commission for Colleges of Education (NCCE) through the Federal Department of Education to provide all tertiary education to close. institutions temporarily before the elections.

According to Akinteye, many students who applied for PVC outside of their campuses may be disenfranchised due to their different academic calendars, keeping them in school.

Referring to the large number of registered voters within the youth age range, he said the youth population is critical, ready to vote and will not want anything to discourage the exercise of a fundamental human right.

The NANS leadership also urged the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to make special arrangements for the students to collect their PVCs.

Akinteye said: “Following the extension of the deadline for the collection of permanent voter cards (PVCs) to Sunday, February 5, 2023, and with the general election starting in several weeks, the Office of the NANS Vice President (External Affairs) is calling on the Federal Government of Nigeria to immediately temporarily close all tertiary institutions to allow students to collect their PVCs in their local government areas and vote in the upcoming elections.

In the past, the lack of flexibility of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) and the management of tertiary institutions has made it difficult and nearly impossible for students to participate in the electoral process.

“The matter is different now for the 2023 elections. This is because students were in their different houses during the ongoing voter registration due to the long-term strike of the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU), and about 4 million (according to the statistics) of us have newly registered for our PVCs.

Now that we have registered for our PVCs and they have been processed, our tertiary institutions are not considering academic breaks for students during the General Election, although they know that most students have registered outside their campuses to go collect our PVCs and have the option to vote.

“We therefore call on the Federal Government of Nigeria to mandate the National Universities Commission (NUC), the National Board for Technical Education (NBTE) and the National Commission for Colleges of Education (NCCE) through the Federal Ministry of Education. to temporarily close all tertiary institutions until after the general election to allow the Nigerian students (who make up 40.8 percent of newly registered voters in Nigeria’s 774 local government areas) to access their PSCs and vote for the candidates of their choice in fulfillment of their social responsibility as patriotic citizens of Nigeria.

“As the leadership of NANS, we cannot stand by and watch our school management disenfranchise us with their unfavorable academic calendars that fail to account for election timelines and dates, knowing that we have a stake in the course of events as they unfold in previous weeks.

“We therefore call on the Federal Government of Nigeria to authorize the National Universities Commission (NUC), the National Board for Technical Education (NBTE), the National Commission for Colleges of Education (NCCE) through the Federal Ministry of Education to close all tertiary institutions temporarily until after the general elections to allow the Nigerian students (who make up 40.8 percent of newly registered voters in Nigeria’s 774 local government areas) to access their PVCs and vote in fulfillment for the candidates of their choice of their civic responsibility as patriotic citizens of Nigeria.

“We are urging the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to make special arrangements for the students to collect their PVCs in consolidating the federal government’s efforts to temporarily close schools to allow students to complete one of their fundamental exercise human rights: vote. ”