The members led by Ibrahim Suleiman Mubarak, Chairman, NANS Unity Forum accused the president of getting involved in politics.
A fresh crisis has engulfed the National Association of Nigerian Students (NANS) as a group of members accused the association’s President, Usman Umar Barambu, of working for the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) candidate, Atiku Abubakar during last Saturday’s presidential election.
The members led by Ibrahim Suleiman Mubarak, Chairman, NANS Unity Forum accused the president of getting involved in politics.
Barambu had two days to the election claimed the association would not endorse any of a presidential candidate for the 2023 election.
However, Mubarak alleged the NANS President supported Atiku “who also double as his Fulani kinsmen”.
He accused him of being partial and failure to serve the primary purpose of the association, which is to protect the general interest of all Nigerian students, both at home and abroad.
“The NANS President, Com Umar Barambu who was elected last year by Senators in Abuja across the country that we all thought will act and perform better has proven to Nigerian students and the entire Nigerians that he is not different from the greedy and corrupt NANS leaders we used to know.
“It should interest Nigerian students that Comrade Umar Barambu was supported and financed by the APC government in 2020 which is not our business. Fast forward to the general election that was just concluded, Comrade Umar Barambu failed to repay his pay masters and as he held and refrained all NANS National executives from openly endorsing their candidates because of the millions of naira he got from the PDP Presidential aspirant, Alhaji Atiku Abubakar who also double as his Fulani kinsmen. Meanwhile, he has turned the association to a money-making machine.
“After the Vice President, External Affairs, Com Akinteye Babatunde openly declared and endorsed Bola Ahmed Tinubu in Lagos on the 20th of February, 2023 with Senators and stakeholders in the Southwest states, he, Barambu, denied the endorsement. We thought it was for the good of the association not knowing he had his own plan of working for his kinsman, Atiku Abubarkar.
“However, to our utmost surprise, immediately after the announcement, we saw the NANS President congratulating His Excellency Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu who he dearly wanted to lose also giving kudos to INEC just to play a hypocritical game he is known for over time. Is he ready to sell the association again to APC since his preferred candidate lost?
“We want the general public and the entire Nigerian students both home and diaspora to know that Com.Umar Barambu is a PDP apologist and stalwart as one of their arrangement is to make Alh. Abubakar Atiku the President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria in the just concluded election so they can hand over power as the next NANS President to a comrade from Delta state who is a Special Assistant to Governor Ifeanyi Okowa after Barambu’s tenure.
“Moreover, we are aware the Jigawa state Governor, His Excellency Muhammad Badaru Abubakar is trying to cover up for Umar Barambu’s excesses and overzealous conduct, it’s good we let the Progressive family know that we have rejected Umar Barambu as we are just waiting for his election date while we also know the NANS National executives that stood with the Progressive, Umar Barambu should not come and play a double face game with Nigerian Students and Nigerians at large.”
However, calls put across by SaharaReporters to Barambu were not picked nor returned.