Ogun: Nigerian students back Abiodun on reforms

The National Association of Nigerian Students (NANS), Ogun JCC, has expressed displeasure over the actions of the Coalition for United Political Parties (CUPP) in antagonising the state government activities. 

The students’ apex body leadership stated this at a press conference held in Abeokuta, the state capital. 

The chairman of the students body, Gabriel Francis, noted that the Dapo Abiodun led state government has at many times carried the citizenz along in its policy formulation, adding that CUPP lacks facts in its criticism. 

CUPP leadership had threatened to sue the state government over what it described as attempts to undermine the rights and welfare of civil servants in the state. 

The body, led by Femi Soluade, accused the governor of stripping civil servants of the rights to land and housing that were originally allocated to them during the administration of the Second Republic under Governor Bisi Onabanjo.

Francis however, stated that the civil servants were adequately carried along by the state government when the idea of rebuilding the Government Reserved Areas (GRAs) was conceived.

“CUPP in Ogun in recent times has turned itself into a puppet being strung by a political ventriloquist, who pays them to do his own dirty job.

“To NANS Ogun and NAOSS National this is not only laughable but a low one from a group of charlatans.

“With these allegations highlighted by the CUPP, it clearly showed that the body has lost direction and has become rudderless. Oftentimes, the state government has clarified its intention on the reinvention of the Government Residential Areas (GRAs) in the state, particularly the one at Ibara, which is the flagship. 

“In fact, extensive vacation notices were issued to the affected workers, while the then Head of Service held a series of meetings with workers to explain the rationale behind the government’s decision.

“No affected worker carried placards to protest the noble idea by the Governor Abiodun-led administration. Rather, the workers threw their weight behind the project, especially with the availability of low cost houses constructed by the state government across the state,” he said.