Crisis In NANS leadership Elections As Candidate Alleges N300 Million Bribes From APC

The leadership of National Association of Nigerian Students (NANS) is currently facing internal tussle over alleged 300 million bribes from the ruling All Progressives Congress to hijack the process of the students' union election.

This was learnt following a petition by Joshua Danladi, submitted to the State Security Services (SSS) obtained by newsmen on Wednesday.

The petition dated 31st August, alleged that APC has resorted to massive financial inducement to secure the NANS presidential slot and other positions for their anointed candidates in order to work towards the ruling party’s electoral victory at the 2023 polls.

Part of the petition read, “We also have it on good authority that the CPC (Convention Planning Committee) is being hijacked by external political forces within the All Progressives Congress (APC) who are hellbent on imposing their stooges to lead the students’ movement as we inch closer to the 2023 general elections.”

Mr Danladi is a student of Federal University Dutsin-Ma and one of the contenders in the NANS presidential election.

In his petition, he said the APC had budgeted one million naira bribe per delegate for the 2022 NANS election scheduled to have been held between August 25th to 29th.

The petition claimed the association’s election has been advertently and indefinitely delayed as a ploy for the ruling party to perfect its vote-buying fraud.

“Furthermore, we gathered that the CPC in active connivance with some politically exposed candidates have reached an agreement to prolong the convention as long as it takes from frontline APC and from the presidential villa.”

The indefinite extension of the NANS election has “rendered homeless” hundreds of students who travelled to Abuja and have now exhausted their hotel budget following the unanticipated development.

“One of the politically exposed candidates has so far cashed out over N50m from the APC,” the petition stressed.

“Equally, the CPC and APC endorsed candidate are waiting to receive the sum of three hundred million naira (300,000,000) from APC presidential villa and have earmarked to purchase the nearly 300 votes at the cost of one million naira (1,000,000) for each vote,” the petition added.

“These allegations, when confirmed to be true, negate the provision of the constitution of NANS and an affront to free and fair electoral processes and a call for anarchy in the students’ movement,” it added.

Meanwhile, Mr Danladi did not name any suspects in his petition.