2021: Education budget ‘worst’ in a decade —NANS
…Urges FG to reverse electricity tariff or face mass action
Abimbola Abatta, Osogbo
The President, National Association of Nigerian Students (NANS), Comrade Sunday Asefon has described the amount allocated to the education sector in the country’s 2021 budget as the worst in a decade.
It would be recalled that a sum of N742.5 billion out of the total N11.7 trillion budget was allocated to the ministry of Education out of which N615.1 billion is proposed to go into the recurrent expenditure of the ministry, covering personnel and overhead costs, while N127.3 billion is devoted to capital expenditure.
Asefon, while addressing journalists on Thursday in Osogbo, said a careful analysis of the budget showed that the FG is not serious about revitalising education in the country
He called on the FG to review the sector’s budget upwardly, urging the government to summon an education summit to allow stakeholders in the sector to collectively prover solution to the rot in the sector.
In his words, “We call on FG to find means to jack up the education budget. We also urge the government to call for an education summit for stakeholders to come together and find a lasting solution to the challenges facing the sector.
“We, on our part, will also organise security summit across the NANS zones to challenge and forestall bandit from further harassing students, like the incident that happened in Kakanra Local Government Area of Katsina State, where students where kidnapped in broad daylight.”
Speaking further, the NANS president expressed displeasure with the recent increase in electricity tariff which he described as anti-people, insensitive and ill-timed.
Stating that the hike coming barely two weeks after it was increased by over 100% is not only unacceptable but ridiculous, Asefon called on the government to reverse the hike or face mass action.
He said, “NANS rejects the recent hike in the electricity tariff as we believe that the hike is insensitive, ill-timed and anti-people.
“That other nations of the world are doing everything possible to ease the economic challenges occasioned by Covid-19 on its citizens through various interventions and benefits.
“The Nigerian government must not do the opposite by making everything more difficult for its citizens during this hard time.
“That NANS call on NERC to reverse this hike or face mass actions. These resolutions will be pursued by all structures of NANS until the reversal of the hike in the price is implemented by the appropriate agency of government.”
He further noted that “NANS will not hesitate to collaborate with other civil society organizations to ensure the hike is reversed.”
