…Pleads With NANS Not To Go On Street Protests
The former presidential candidate of Mass Action Joint Alliance (MAJA) in 2019, Professor Funmilayo Adesanya-Davies, has called on the Federal Government, to please urgently proffer solutions to the petrol pump price hike, the hunger in the nation and economic challenges, in general.
She also appealed to President Bola Tinubu, the National Assembly, the governors, the ministers and other public officials to reduce the cost of governance.
These were contained in a statement on Sunday in her reaction to the threat by a faction of the leadership of the National Association of Nigerian Students (NANS) to go on protest on September 15.
Adesanya-Davies said: “It is a fact that despite being one of the leading oil producers, Nigeria faces regular fuel shortages that have a clipping effect on the economy.
“This is because it relies on petroleum products that are imported by the state-owned oil company, the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPC Ltd). Currently, the country has very little refining capacity and must bring in finished products for consumption in the country.
“Moreover, Nigeria is unfortunately currently tagged, ‘The poverty capital of the world.’
“As regards hunger, the government should ensure adequate security and provide farm incentives such as grants, subsidized inputs, loans, improved crop/livestock varieties and modern farm equipment for rural and household farming to enable them to overcome food insecurity in the country.”
She added: “As for the fuel pump price hike, the Tinubu’s administration should consider overhauling the energy sector’s administration, opening up the import market to other suppliers to take off pressure from NNPC, as well as, letting the newly opened Dangote Petroleum Refinery come to Nigeria’s rescue immediately.
“As a matter of urgency, President Bola Tinubu should please, simply cut the cost of governance, reduce the pays of the governors, the upper and lower house members, increase salaries, bring down the price of fuel, fix refineries and encourage farming and importation of food in the short run.”
Recall that the President of Senate, NANS, Okunomo Henry Adewumi, had in a letter to Nigerian students, notified them of an impending massive shutdown of all major cities in Nigeria, effective September 15, 2024, in protest of the recent hike in fuel pump price.
The factional leader of NANS had threatened to occupy major cities across the country on September 15, if the recent increase in fuel prices is not reversed.
Okunomo during an appearance on Channels Television’s Sunrise Daily reiterated that the students would occupy major cities across the country on September 15, if the recent increase in fuel pump prices was not reversed.
But Adesanya-Davies who, in addition, is the Country President of the United Nations Positive Livelihood Award Centre (UN-POLAC), urged Nigerian students not to go on street protest over the fuel price hike.
The academic luminary said she would not look forward to a situation in Nigeria where both the umbrella body of the nation’s students’ union (NANS) and the federal government would have a face off. She, therefore, called for an immediate dialogue between the two parties.
Adesanya-Davies appealed to NANS to remember that this is already one of the “Ember’ months and that it is not desirable that any of them should lose their lives during protests.
She also appealed to them to kindly give more time to the government to address the situation and other national challenges.
Adesanya-Davies said: “Please, this news that the students will protest in major streets in Nigeria on September 15, is alarming because NANS, the students’ apex body in the nation, has over 40 million Nigerian students.
The government should not turn a deaf ear to it. I therefore plead with President Bola Tinubu to reorganise his programmes, which have plunged Nigerians into unfathomable hardship and restore fuel subsidy in a transparent manner and management to power productivity.
“We recall that the Nigerian students had expressed their support and endorsed the presidential aspiration of Adesanya-Davies, in 2019 as a woman and an academic. NANS also honoured Adesanya-Davies with its “Most Outstanding Leadership Award” of the year, 2018; according to the letter sent.
“It was an ‘Award of Excellence in Service and Outstanding Leadership,’ in recognition of my invaluable contributions to youth empowerment, excellence in service and outstanding leadership over the years.”