By Mohammed Yakubu and Hamzat Ibrahim Abaga
DESPITE the relentless aim to sanitize and keep the society out of corruption, especially in the educational system, the rate of embezzlement, invasion of offices and other petty corruptible cases are still at stake as the mother body of National Association of Niger State Students (NANISS) recorded several cases of misappropriations in the last three administrations.
Recently, it was recalled that the Students’ Representative Assembly (SRA) received a signed petition against the National President, Sallah Muhammad Abdullahi of Ibrahim Badamasi Babangida (IBB) University, from core executives council through the Clark of the Union, Senator Salihu Mohammed Chado of Fati Lami Abubakar Institute for Legal and Administrative Studies (FLAILAS).
Reacting to the petition received by the Students’ Representative Assembly (SRA) which challenged the president’s integrity of fund management among other things, the SRA based on the constitutional right, suspended the president for a period of six weeks pending the time the allegations are proved to be false.
“The allegations as stated in the petition accused the National President of fund embezzlement as well as hijacking the power of other executive offices” the Senate President, Senator Al-Mustapha Suleiman of Federal University, Gusau, said.
As confirmed by Senator Al-Mustapha “the suspension came as a result of ‘vote of no confidence’ passed on the president by the two-third members of the executive arm of the Union”.
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“We didn’t act outside the provision of the constitution, we acted in line with the provisions of section 9(1)(F) and section 9(4)(E) of NANISS national constitution which thus stated: The students’ Representative Assembly (SRA) has the power to moderate the activities of the executive government of the association.
Also, SRA has the power to serve as an avenue to receive petition or quarry from any member of the association” he added.
However, for the benefit of the doubt, a disciplinary committee was constituted to investigate the matter and report back their fundings within the stipulated period entrenched in the constitution.
Pending the outcome of the investigation, the NANISS National vice president Comrade Nafisat Ibrahim Tukura of IBB University is to act as the National President of the Union within the specified period of the suspension.
The suspended President is however summoned to submit all property belonging to the association to the acting president.
To ensure transparency, the speaker further stated “If the allegations were found to be true after a thorough investigation, the suspended president will be punished in accordance with the provision of the constitution.
“Similarly, if the allegations were found to be false, the involved core executives would be punished accordingly”.
Countering the suspension, the suspended president, Sallah, denied the suspension and allegations leveled against him and rather made a ‘u-turn’ saying “For now, there is nothing like SRA legislative arm in the union, so no any suspension against me”.
He stated this while responding to a phone call by these campus reporters.
He further sent a letter through one of his allies in NANISS, Comrade Nuhu Umar Shugaba, who claimed to be the National welfare Director of the Association, confirming the suspension of all the SRA leadership faction. The heading of the letter thus read: “Suspension of all SRA leadership Factions to avert Impending Civil suspect”.
Below is a copy of the letter:
Similar cases of corruption in the last two administrations.
As if it is a tradition of the Union’s leadership, our findings have uncovered how each administration has shaped their leaders based on the ground of similar corruptible scenarios.
A phone call placed on the former Clerk of the Union, Ibrahim Alfa Idris of Niger State College of Education, Minna, during 2017/2018 administration, revealed that the then President, Comrade Lawal Abdulkadir Abugi, was also suspended for the period of three weeks.
In his statement, “Abugi, was suspended for similar cases after which he was recalled to his position”.
He further disclosed that the same occurrence surfaced during the 2018/2019 administration of Comrade Muhammad Sani Yahyah of Kaduna State University.
Reacting to this, the incumbent Senate President, Senator Al-Mustapha Suleiman said ” the SRA doesn’t have any personal interest regarding the incessant suspension of its presidents, rather the SRA is demanding for accountability and transparency in the system
The NANISS leadership with the questions of N750,000 and Scholarship Scheme
There are some interrogations demanding how the 750, 000 monthly allocation by the Niger State Government, is being spent as well as the delay of Scholarship Scheme for Niger State Students in tertiary institutions.
Acknowledging the matter, the Senate President confirmed the monthly allocation to the pressmen which is aimed to execute some of the Union’s projects.
According to him, “So far, the present administration has received the money more than three times without executing any meaningful project with it”.
He stated that this is part of the reasons why he was suspended.
In contrast to this, the acting President, Nafisah Ibrahim Tukura, while responding to our phone call, told the press “the only project the suspended presidents claimed to be working on is the ‘Building of the Union’s Secretariat” which was long ago started by the previous administration before him”.
“Some few months ago, he took us to the location of the project at Gidan Mangoro along Bida-Minna Road, showing us the situation of the site” she stated.
She also made comment about the Scholarship Scheme stressing that the suspended president did not push the request as expected.
She, therefore, pleaded with the students to remain calm as measurable steps are being taken to drive home their demands.
