Student bodies in Ogun State, on Sunday, demanded an official probe of the alleged wasteful spendings by the immediate past governor of the state, Senator Ibikunle Amosun, in the education sector.
The students, under the aegis of National Association of Nigerian Students (NANS) Joint Campus Committee (JCC) and the National Association of Ogun State Students (NAOSS), said the eight-year administration of Amosun should be investigated, especially in view of alleged fraudulent awards of contracts and abandonment of multi-billion naira model schools across the state.
They specifically asked the incumbent Governor Dapo Abiodun to review policies and projects executed in the education sector under the Amosun-led administration towards returning the state to its glorious height as the education capital of Nigeria.
The NANS JCC Chairman, Comrade Kehinde Damilola Simeon, and the NAOSS National President, Comrade Ogunrombi Gbemileke, who spoke on behalf of the students at a news conference in Abeokuta, said the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) ought to have launched investigation into the tenure of Amosun, who currently represents Ogun Central Senatorial District in the National Assembly.
The duo also criticised the former governor for the continuous distraction of the incumbent governor which, according to them, may have adverse effect on governance in the state.
The students leaders, who reacted to last week’s rally in Abeokuta by Senator Amosun and his supporters, described the rally as a “security threat” calculated to undermine the authority of the incumbent governor at a time all hands should be on deck to sustain peace and tranquility in the Gateway State.
Damilola bemoaned the alleged destructive policies of the Amosun government, saying “As the representatives of all students in and from Ogun State, we cannot forget the destructive policies of Sen. Amosun during his eight years as the governor of Ogun State.
“He had used the two terms he is proud of to destroy the legacy the state used to enjoy as the education capital of Nigeria with highest number of tertiary institutions and excellent performance at national and continental examinations like WAEC, NECO, etc.
“The ex-governor should be ashamed that his first public policy on education was aimed at scrapping of the first University of Education in Nigeria, Tai Solarin University of Education (TASUED), Ijagun, with no reasonable excuse other than primordial sentiments of erasing the efforts of his predecessor who founded the University.
“But for the unrelenting efforts of the good people of Ogun State and the courageous role of the Students’ Union of TASUED and other relevant student bodies, the premier university of education, TASUED, has outlived the inglorious eight years of Ibikunle Amosun as the state’s governor.”
Speaking further, the NANS leader urged Governor Abiodun not to allow his previous cordial relationship with his predecessor to stop him from doing the needful.
He added, “As students’ body, we have nothing to do with partisan politics, but we have noticed that there are lots of issues which Abiodun ought to have tackled and ask questions about which he has jettisoned, maybe because of the friendship that existed between him and Amosun.
“One of such good examples is the wasteful spending on the Model Schools’ project for which several billions of tax payers’ money were expended. Those buildings, today, are not useful.
“Who are those people that brought the idea of having Model Schools in the first place? What were the reasons for their creations? Why are those schools not functional? From our findings, we discovered that some contractors are being owed among other mind boggling issues.
“Senator Ibikunle Amosun alongside several other people are supposed to be behind bars now if Governor Abiodun were to be serious about our collective patrimony in the state. It is, however, sad that Governor Abiodun, maybe because of his friendship with Senator Amosun, is not putting the lives of the masses at stake since the past three years. It is high time the governor took up his responsibilities as the Chief Security Officer of the state and do the needful and put whoever that deserves it in jail.
“Let’s put aside sentiments, the educational sector suffered greatly for eight years under the administration of the immediate past Governor Amosun and a lot of things need to be reviewed.”