By Rukiyat Ogunwade
The newly inaugurated National President of the National Association of Nigerian Students (NANS), Olushola Oladoja, has described the report in an online medium alleging factionalisation of the student body as misleading and something that only exists in the imagination of the claimants.
In a statement he signed on Wednesday, he said, “To begin with, the publication in question is a vile concoction, steeped in half-truths and malevolent distortions, and is nothing short of a disinformation campaign meticulously orchestrated to sow seeds of discord within the Nigerian student constituency and to impugn the integrity of our noble association.
“To this end, I state, without equivocation, that the content attributed to my address is a blatant falsification. The address delivered by me and which was witnessed by the entirety of our statutory stakeholders, dignitaries from relevant ministries, and broadcast live by the Nigerian Television Authority (NTA), was one anchored on hope, unity, pragmatic engagement, and a clear roadmap towards revitalizing campus security and student welfare across the federation.
“Therefore, the spurious rhetoric attributed to me by Sahara Reporters exists only in the imaginations of those desperate to discredit our emerging ideological shift away from sensationalism towards responsible activism.”
He added that there is no factional leadership in NANS and that he, Oladoja, was duly elected at the national convention held in Abuja last February.
“Moreover, we must stress for the umpteenth time that there is no factional leadership in NANS. The purported claim of a parallel president in the person of one Atiku Abubakar Isah is both laughable and pitiable. The said individual did not participate in the last convention that ushered in the new leadership of the organization.
“It is, therefore, necessary to place on public record that, I, Comrade Olusola Ladoja remains the sole, legitimate, and globally recognized President of the National Association of Nigerian Students (NANS), having emerged through a transparent, democratic, and widely monitored electoral process.
“While we are staunch defenders of press freedom, we unequivocally reject the abuse of such freedom as a cover for propaganda, falsehood, and character assassination.
“Let no one labour under the illusion of invincibility; the days of unchallenged impunity are over. In the meantime, we urge the public, stakeholders, and the international community to disregard the aforementioned publication in its entirety. It is fiction masquerading as news, and utterly devoid of credibility.”
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