The National Association of Nigerians Students (NANS) Joint Campus Committee(JCC) and National Association of Ogun State Students (NAOSS) on Saturday gave Governor Dapo Abiodun 21 – day ultimatum to appoint a substantive Commissioner for the state’s ministry of Education, Science and Technology to arrest the drift in the sector.
The students expressed worry that this key sector of the state should not be left without a Commissioner, urging Abiodun to urgently appoint a seasoned and tested Educationist and administrator of the status of a professor as Commissioner to man the education ministry.
In a joint pressing briefing in Abeokuta, the Ogun State capital by Com. Ogunrombi Oluwagbemileke(National President, NAOSS) and Com. Bamgbose Tomiwa (Chairman, NANS JCC, Ogun State), they recalled that the last time the education sector had it so good was during the era of Gbenga Daniel’s administration, which the students leaders said, made use of professors as its managers.
NANS JCC and NAOSS also threatened to mobilise their members for a statewide protests if the Governor at the expiration of the ultimatum, failed to appoint a substantive commissioner for Education, Science and Technology for the state.
“We have so far tolerated this disregard for education sector for too long and we can no longer take it anyone, therefore, we want to issue a 21-day ultimatum to Governor Abiodun to appoint an experienced Professor and a core educationalist as the substantive Commissioner failure of which we will embark on massive protests across the State until our request is granted.
“The vacuum in the Ministry has been responsible for the underdevelopment of the education sector in the State and as a major stakeholder in the education sector, we will not standby and fold our arms and watch the sector collapse as a result of the leadership vacuum in the Ministry of Education.
“We hereby demand that Governor Abiodun appoint an experienced educationalist who is not lesser than a professor as the Commissioner to pilot the affairs of the Ministry of Education in the State.
“The sector needs a core educationalist, an experienced Professor to drive the sector for unparalleled development and we have obviously felt the impact of having a Professor, in person of Prof. Sidi Osho in the Ministry, especially in our higher institutions.
“So, the Governor should select from the pool of professionals in the sector – there are hundreds of Professors across the universities in the country that are indigenes of Ogun State (former ASUU Chairmen, former VCs, among others) that have spent decades in the education sector and appoint one of them as a Commissioner,” the students leaders said.