Nigerian students under the umbrella of Tinubu/ Shetima Students Vanguard, on Tuesday, backed the presidential ambition of Bola Tinubu, presidential candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC).
The students expressed commitment to work for the victory of Tinubu and his running mate, Kashim Shettima, in the 2023 elections.
Sunday Asefon, coordinator of the group, who is the immediate past president of National Association of Nigerian Students, said that their support for Tinubu was consequent upon the fact that he had the required qualities to lead the country right and bring about necessary developments in the education sector among others.
Asefon, who spoke at a World Press Conference addressed by TSSV leadership in Ado Ekiti, the Ekiti State capital, said support for the APC flagbearer was imperative since “the outcome of the 2023 election will have great impacts on the lives of young population.
“Nigerian students are solidly behind Tinubu’s ambition. Asiwaju is our first choice, second choice and third choice for the exalted seat as we believe he is a leader who values education and will bring about a new direction to the education sector most especially by putting permanent end to the recurring strikes in our tertiary institutions”, he added.
“It is on this note that we the Nigerian students under the aegis of TSSV cutting across all campuses in the 36 states and Federal Capital Territory have reviewed political developments of the country and concluded to mobilize our members and indeed the millions of progressive Nigerian students to support Tinubu and Shettima”.
The TSSV Coordinator added that the group considered “Tinubu’s intellectual prowess, pedigree, administrative acumen, competence and experience as very crucial to taking the country to higher pedestal”, said his Presidency would be a great blessing to entire Nigeria.
He said, “As a youth group whose interest is the total well-being of our members, we cannot seek for nothing short of a rosy future for the younger generation which Asiwaju had championed in the past. While he was governor of Lagos, he initiated numerous policies and programmes for both students and youths.
“He introduced numerous policies in the education sector, payment of WAEC fee for students from all walks of life so far you lived in Lagos, several tuitions and indigent scholarships, disbursement of students’ bursaries and building of many schools. The One-day Governor program started in Lagos with the Spelling Bee Competition which was the first of its kind,” Asefon said.
TSSV General Secretary, Shettima Umar, who unveiled two buses procured by the group to further the campaign for Tinubu’s election on the campuses, described the APC presidential candidate as the best among the contenders hence the need for Nigerians to join the bid to elect him the country’s next president.