By Onoja Johnson Baba.
The Kogi State University Student Union Government (SUG) president, Comrade Shaibu Philips Omepa has vowed never to show any form or respect to the Peoples Democratic Party, National Youth Frontier (PDP NYF) Coordinator, Comrade Usman Okai Austin.
Omepa made this known while reacting to a story posted by Comrade Usman on his facebook time line, yesterday.
The story which borders on an alleged corruption practices between the state government and the students unions leaders in the state’s higher institutions, was greeted with reactions from several flowers of the PDPNYF coordinator.
“The obvious romance of the student bodies, whose executives are now placed on monthly allowance of between 100,000 naira to 150,000 naira monthly, with the state government to truncate and frustrate efforts of the staffers of various institutions towards achieving their legitimate demands”, the PDPNYF cordinator alleged.
Registering his disappointment and anger towards the accusation, Omepa stated that all what Usman said were nothing but lies. He then posed a question that what if they (SUG) protests, how would the allegation be justified. Thereon, he promised not to respect the PDPNYF cordinator in his (Philips) life time.
Similarly, Omepa issued a disclaimaer on February 16th at about 8:46pm via his facebook account, debunking what he described as a ‘rumour’ making the round that he was bribed to avert a protest that was, according to him, never planned.
“I write to the generality of the students of Kogi state university and Congress of kogi state to debunk the rumor that the SUG has collected the sum of 1.2million Naira from KOGI STATE government to stop the protest which was never planned by the institution for 21st February 2017.
It is worthy of note that such rumor lingered in the last ASUU strike which was proven not to be true with the protest that held in ganaja junction on July 14th, 2016.
It is also worthy of note that the SUG president has been quiet as to issue regarding the current ASUU strike and this is because the body knew various procedures and method it adopted to achieve success in the past ASUU strike.
Part of the primary aim and mandate of the union is to protect the lives and security of its students. And this is why it cannot risk allowing its students participate in a protest it cannot guarantee their security.
This doesn’t mean if protest becomes our last resort, it wouldn’t be adopted.
For the avoidance of doubt I will emphatically stress out that if any government officials has given the SUG of KSU money to stop the rumored protest, he or she should come out with evidence for clarity and posterity sake.
Finally students are pleaded to keep their peace as decisions taken will purely put a lasting end to the issue of ASUU strike in Kogi State University”, he said.
