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The National Association of Nigerian Students (NANS), has demanded the sack of Director General of National Space Research and Development Agency, Dr Mathew Adepoju and the Executive Director of Cocoa Research Institute of Nigeria, Dr. P.O Adebola over allegation of corruption.
The students body urged President Bola Tinubu to sack them with immediate effect so as to serve as deterrence to others.
This was stated in a press release signed by the Clerk of the Senate, Oladimeji Uthman which was made available to newsmen on Wednesday.
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According to the statement, NANS submitted that it will not tolerate lack of transparency and accountability from those in public offices and management of agencies and MDAs.
The statement reads “I extend to you solidarity greetings from the Secretariat of National Association of Nigerian Students (NANS), the umbrella body for all Nigerian Students schooling at home and in the diaspora. It is the most virile advocacy group in Africa.
“It would be recalled that on the 30th of September 2024, a letter of notification of allegation report/request for fact-finding visit was submitted to your office which was duly acknowledged.
“In the letter, I intimated you of several allegation reports submitted to the Secretariat of NANS by different Civil Society Organizations (CSOs) and different interest groups, alleging you of corruption.
“Also, in the documents, it was alleged that some projects executed last year and as well as in the 2024 budget appropriation under your agency meant to be implemented in some part of North Central and South Western states of Nigeria, which were totally in discordance to the vision and mission statement of NSRDA and CRIN as a government agency in charge of Space Research and Development and Agriculture respectively.
“As an ideological advocacy organization, despite our commitment and efforts to meet with you for clarifications and know the true situation of things, everything proved abortive.
“With the above explanations, NANS has in its last Senate meeting, held at Niger Delta University, Bayelsa State attended by students across the country, resolved to heavily mobilize armless Nigerian Students to your establishment to peacefully demand for the immediate sack, arrest and prosecution of the management of these agencies on issues that boils down on corruption and mismanagement.
“Your failure to reach out to the National Secretariat of NANS truly means the management team are accomplice of all the crimes they were alleged of.
“However, our proposed National Mass Action is in tandem with the anti corruption drive of President Bola Tinubu to flush out bad eggs and serve as deterrent to others. “Public Office is a Trust while abusing it is a Crime”. This is a strong message that we will not tolerate, lack of transparency and accountability from those in public offices.
“The National Mass Action is scheduled to hold between the 2nd and 3rd December 2024 at their various agencies, the Clerk said.
