Shut down tertiary institutions for elections, NANS urges FG

The leadership of the National Association of Nigerian Studies (NANS) has demanded the federal government order closure of tertiary institutions until after the general election.

Through its Vice President (External Affairs), Akinteye Babatunde, the students’ umbrella body said such a declaration will allow Nigerian students to get their Permanent Voter Cards (PVCs) and vote.

The NANS leadership specifically asked that the federal government mandate the National Universities Commission (NUC), the National Board for Technical Education (NBTE), and the National Commission for Colleges of Education (NCCE) through the Federal Ministry of Education to shut down all tertiary institutions temporarily for the elections.

According to Akinteye, many students who registered for PVC outside their campuses may be disenfranchised because of their various academic calendar, which keeps them in school.

Pointing to the vast number of registered voters within the youths age bracket, he said the youth population is critical, ready to vote, and will not want anything to dissuade its exercise of a fundamental human right.

The NANS leadership also urged the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to make special arrangements for the students to collect their PVCs.

Akinteye said: “After the extension of the deadline for the collection of Permanent Voter Cards (PVCs) till Sunday, February 5, 2023, and because the general elections will commence in few weeks, the Office of the NANS Vice President (External Affairs) calls on the Federal Government of Nigeria to immediately close all tertiary institutions temporarily to allow students to collect their PVCs from their Local Government Areas and vote in the forthcoming elections.

In time past, the lack of flexibility of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) and the management of tertiary institutions have made it difficult and almost impossible for students to participate in the electoral process.

“The case is now different for the 2023 Elections. This is because, during the continuous voter registration exercise, students were in their various homes due to the prolonged Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) strike, and about 4 million (according to statistics) of us registered newly for our PVCs.

Now that we have registered for our PVCs and they have been processed, our tertiary institutions are not considering academic breaks for students during the general elections, despite knowing that most students registered outside their campuses to go and collect our PVCs and have the opportunity to vote.

“This is why we are calling on the Federal Government of Nigeria to mandate the National Universities Commission (NUC), the National Board for Technical Education (NBTE), and the National Commission for Colleges of Education (NCCE) through the Federal Ministry of Education to shut down all tertiary institutions temporarily until after the general election to allow the Nigerian students (who constitute 40.8 percent of the newly registered voters across the 774 local government areas of Nigeria) have access to their PVCs and vote for the candidates of their choice in fulfillment of their civic responsibility as patriotic citizens of Nigeria.

“As the leadership of NANS, we cannot sit and watch our school management disenfranchise us with their unfavourable academic calendars that do not consider timelines and dates for election when we know that we have a stake in the turns of things as they will unfold in preceding weeks.

“This is why we are calling on the Federal Government of Nigeria to mandate the National Universities Commission (NUC), the National Board for Technical Education (NBTE), the National Commission for Colleges of Education (NCCE) through the Federal Ministry of Education to shut down all tertiary institutions temporarily until after the general elections to allow the Nigerian students (who constitute 40.8 percent of the newly registered voters across the 774 local government areas of Nigeria) have access to their PVCs and vote for the candidates of their choice in fulfillment of their civic responsibility as patriotic citizens of Nigeria.

“We hereby urge the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to make special arrangements for the students to collect their PVCs in the consolidation of the Federal Government’s effort to temporarily shut down schools for students to exercise one of their fundamental human rights – to vote.”