Umar Barambu Emerges New NANS President, Outlines strategy To End ASUU Strike

The newly elected Leaders of the National Association of Nigerian Students (NANS) will be meeting the Nigerian government and the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) towards ending the eight-month-old strike by university lecturers.

The new president of the association, Comrade Umar Barambu, disclosed this in a statement on Saturday.

Barambu, a former students’ union president, the joint campus committee chairman, and Zone A coordinator was on Saturday declared NANS President.

He got 292 votes to defeat his closest rival, Umar Farouk Lawan, who scored only 8 votes.

According to Barambu, the aim of the meeting is to find a central point for an amicable resolution to ensure that students in public universities return to school.

ASUU embarked on strike on February 14 over the government’s failure to honour agreements signed by both parties.

The lecturers’ demands include the revitalization of public universities, payment of earned academic allowances, and the deployment of the University Transparency and Accountability Solution (UTAS) for payment of university lecturers’ salaries, among others.

Barambu also said NANS would fight against the victimization of student leaders and activists on campuses.

He said the new leadership of the students’ association would build strategic partnerships with development organizations to ensure students on campuses enjoy better welfare in terms of ICT, Smart Campus, and access to resources for research and academic productivity.

In a statement, Asefon Sunday, the immediate past NANS President, commended the process through which Barambu emerged.

“When I assumed office, one of the promises I made is to ensure that I leave NANS better than I met it. We initiated electoral reforms and made them institutional. Let me congratulate the President-Elect of NANS, Comrade Usman Umar Barambu for earning the mandate of the Nigerian students in a very free and fair election.”

“In the same vein, I congratulate Comrade Attah Felix for returning as the Senate President of NANS. Institutional reforms are the bedrock upon which transformational progress is built. We reform the system through a constitutional amendment and made accreditation impossible for ineligible voters and for the first time in our recent history, we conducted a rancor-free election and not a single bullet was shot as against experiences of the past where hoodlums shoot guns at will.

“I also want to appreciate Nigerian students for the overwhelming support I was given. Nigerian students stood by me and we fought side by side all through our time in the trenches. We won some, and we learned from others. I therefore on behalf of my team look forward to handing over to the new leadership whom I hope will build on the legacies we have elicited,” the statement reads.

Asefon congratulates NANS ‘President-elect’

Meanwhile, the outgone President of NANS, Sunday Asefon, has congratulated Umar Barambu confirming him as the new ‘President-elect’ of the student body.

In a statement he earlier released Saturday evening, congratulating the new executives, Asefon, who said he initiated electoral reforms as part of his agenda to leave NANS better than he met it, said, “When I assumed office, one of the promises I made was to ensure that I left NANS better than I met it.

“We initiated electoral reforms and made them institutional. Let me congratulate the President-elect of NANS, Comrade Umar Barambu, for earning the mandate of the Nigerian students in a very free and fair election.

“In the same vein, I congratulate Comrade Attah Felix for returning as the Senate President of NANS.”

Stating further, Asefon said as against the previous elections of the body, where electoral violence was prevalent, states that this was not the case in the latest Saturday elections of NANS.

“Institutional reforms are the bedrock upon which transformational progress is built. We reformed the system through a constitutional amendment and made accreditation impossible for ineligible voters, and for the first time in our recent history, we conducted a rancor-free election and not a single bullet was shot as against experiences of the past, where hoodlums’ shotguns at will,” he stated.

“I also want to appreciate Nigerian students for the overwhelming support I was given. Nigerian students stood by me and we fought side by side all through our time in the trenches. We won some, and we learned from others. I, therefore, on behalf of my team, look forward to handing over to the new leadership, whom I hope will build on the legacies we have elicited,” he continued, adding that “Unionism is like building a tower, some will lay the foundation, and others will build on it. We have built ours and history and posterity will accord us our deserving place.”

“In the days ahead, I will meet with the new leadership to initiate immediately the process of transition and handing over.

“We hope NANS will continue to improve institutionally under the new leadership led by Comrade Barambu and continue in the fight for the emancipation and improved welfare for Nigerian students while taking its rightful place in the nation’s polity,” Asefon added.

Barambu is a student of Economics and Developmental Sciences at the Federal University, Dutse, Jigawa State.

Others who were reportedly elected include: Akinteye Babatunde – Vice President (External Affairs); Ekundina Elvis – Deputy Senate President; Ezenagu Victor – Vice President (National Affairs); Saad Baki – Clerk; Suleiman Sarki – VP (Special Duties); Usman Kankia – Secretary General; Giwa Temitope – Public Relations Officer; Chinyelu Okolie – Treasurer and Vanessa Egbeahie – Vice President (Inter-campus Affairs).