The bill sponsored by Hon. Sergius Ogun representing Esan North-East Federal Constituency of Edo, sought to stop public officials from diverting public funds to their children’s education abroad but was rejected by the majority of lawmakers.
National Vice-President (Special Duties), Odiahi Thomas Ikhine, in a statement made available to newsmen on Thursday in Abuja, argued that the education sector in Nigeria is neglected because public officers do not have their children in public schools where the children of the poor attend.
He said the ongoing strike by the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) and many maladies besetting the education sector, were a result of this neglect of the education sector by successive administrations in the country.
Ikhine said the Nigerian students at home and abroad are interested in the bill and would mobilise all over in support of the bill for it to be passed and assented into law by the President.
He appealed to all Nigerian students to support the national leadership of NANS led by Comrade Sunday Asefon in mobilising all and sundry towards ensuring that this bill gets its due and maximum support.
The statement read in part: “Again, those we elected from our various constituency at the Federal level have shown that they are 65 per cent the problem of Nigeria students and by extension the Educational sector and the nation as a whole.
“We watched with total dismay how a bill sponsored by Hon. Sergius Ogun from Edo State was rejected by the majority of the members of the House of Representatives.
“The significance of the bill is that politicians and public office holders will have reasons to take the educational sector serious in terms of management and investment as those saddled with the responsibility of managing and building public institutions.
“They rejected it because they know that they have killed the educational system to the extent that they won’t even recommend the poor children of their soft enemies to attend public institutions in Nigeria talkless of their own biological children.
“To show how wicked our leaders are, they build hospitals that they and their children don’t go to for medical care, they build schools and certify it to be strictly for the poor and average citizens and their children.
“If their children start attending public schools compulsorily there is no way they will not strive to ensure that all the schools are well funded and in good shape to dish out good education.
“So, we appreciate Hon. Sergius Ogun and others stood in support of the bill while also urging those that stood against it to retrace their steps and support the bill in good faith for the good of our dying educational sector.
“NANS wishes to let the leadership of the National assembly know that the rejected bill Sponsored by Hon. Sergius Ogun is of interest to Nigerian students home and abroad and that we are interested in the bill and will mobilize our colleagues all over in support of the bill that will see to it that politicians do not run a way from a process they created or are in charge of.”
Credit; Tribune.