The National Association of the Nigerian Students (NANS) has cautioned against any form of delay to the implementation of Federal Government’s Energising Education Programme (EEP). This is as it threatened to resist such an “unpatriotic act”.
NANS’s President, Mr Chinonso Obasi said this in a statement sent to EduCeleb.com on Monday. He commended President Muhammadu Buhari’s administration for initiating the EEP.
It would be recalled that the EEP is one of the projects being spearheaded by the Federal Ministry of Power, Works and Housing. It aims to provide uninterrupted power supply for 37 Federal Universities and seven University Teaching Hospitals in Nigeria through the utilisation of off-grid Captive Power Plants.
Obasi described the EEP as a “Revolutionary Agenda” in the education sector while stating that any attempt by any member of the National Assembly to stop or delay the programme would amount to sabotage and would negatively affect Nigeria’s higher institutions.
This position lends credence the perspective of policy analysts who raised suspicion about attempts within the Nigerian legislature to sabotage the approval of the project.
He noted how his leadership had called for the extension of the proposed project to all tertiary institutions in the federation considering its immense benefits.
“I led 362 Nigerian Student leaders to present a memorandum in a public/investigative hearing in the Joint committee on Power and Public Procurement on the Jan. 25 at the House of Representatives requesting the EEP project to be extended to all the tertiary institutions of learning in Nigeria.
“This is contrary to the proposed 37 Federal Universities and seven Federal Teaching hospitals across the six geopolitical zones as requested by the Ministry,” he said.
Obasi went further to highlighting benefits of the project to Nigerian tertiary institutions in general.
“EEP is first of its kind in Nigeria and will ensure self-sufficiency in power and sustainable development for Nigerian Tertiary institution to develop and operate energy academies to train and certify students in courses related to renewable energy.
“EEP will distribute power to surrounding communities in the second tier of each phase as a strategy for rural electrification, subsequently resulting in an increase of economic activity within those communities and general well-being.
“Nigerian students shall resist any unnecessary delay to the implementation of the EEP Project; we frown also at the letter read by a member of the lower house during the public hearing which mandated the ministry to stop work until the house was satisfied that due process was followed,’’ he added.
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