Advertorial
NANS:24TH AUGUST PRESS CONFERENCE NOT INDUCED STUDENTS DRIVEN BY PASSION TO CALL FOR URGENT GOVERNMENT’S ATTENTION, NOT AN OPPOSITION CAMPAIGN
GOVERNOR UZODIMMA REMAINS OUR FATHER
The attention of the leadership of NANS Zone F has been drawn to deliberate attempts by certain individuals to misrepresent the press conference held on 24th August, 2026, by portraying it as a politically sponsored gathering designed to attack the Governor Senator Hope Uzodimma or Government of Imo State.
Let it be placed on record, without ambiguity:
NO POLITICIAN, NO POLITICAL PARTY, NO OPPOSITION GROUP AND NO POLITICAL INTEREST PAID, SPONSORED OR INDUCED US TO HOLD THAT PRESS CONFERENCE.
We challenge anyone with contrary evidence to come forward and present it publicly.
The press conference was borne out of genuine concerns affecting Nigerian students in Imo State. It was an avenue through which we sought to attract the attention of the Government and, most importantly, to appeal directly to His Excellency, Sen. Hope Uzodinma, to come to the aid of the students.
That is student leadership.
That is advocacy.
That is the responsibility we accepted when we took up leadership positions.
WE WILL NOT BE INTIMIDATED INTO SILENCE
There appears to be a growing mentality that whenever student leaders raise legitimate concerns about government policies, welfare, education, mobility, security or other challenges confronting students, such leaders must have been sponsored by political opponents.
That narrative is not only false; it is an insult to the intelligence and independence of the Nigerian student movement.
Must students receive money from politicians before they are allowed to complain about their problems?
Must every appeal for government intervention automatically become an opposition agenda?
Must every criticism of a government official be interpreted as an attempt to overthrow the government?
Absolutely not.
NANS CANNOT BE HIJACKED FOR POLITICAL INTERESTS
Let it be clearly understood that NANS is not the property of any opposition party, politician, or opposition group.
NANS belongs to Nigerian students.
We will not allow the association to become a political weapon for anybody or opposition.
When government gets it right, we will commend it. When government needs to do better, we will say so. When students are suffering, we will speak. When students need intervention, we will appeal.
That is not politics.
That is leadership.
OUR MESSAGE TO THE GOVERNMENT OF IMO STATE WAS SIMPLY AN APEAL
Our message on 24th August was not complicated:
“Your students need your attention. Your students need your intervention. Your students need your support.”
Rather than interpreting that appeal as an attack, responsible stakeholders should ask themselves why students had to publicly draw attention to the challenges confronting them in the first place.
We did not take the microphone to campaign for any opposition candidate.
We did not endorse any political party.
We did not call for the removal of the Governor.
We did not mobilize students against the Government.
We appealed to the Government to come to the aid of the students.
If asking government to address the problems of its students is now considered an act of opposition, then those making such allegations need to seriously reconsider their understanding of student leadership.
WE HAVE NOTHING TO HIDE
Let those spreading the allegation of sponsorship produce the evidence.
Who paid us?
Who sponsored the press conference?
How much was paid?
Who gave the money?
Where was it transferred?
We are prepared to answer these questions publicly because we have nothing to hide.
We will not allow baseless political accusations to distract from the real issues confronting Nigerian students.
Our focus remains the welfare, security, education, mobility and future of our students.
That is not the NANS we represent.
We were elected and entrusted with responsibilities to represent students, not to serve as public-relations machinery for OPPOSITION .
Our voices are not for sale.
Our conscience is not for sale.
The Nigerian student movement is not for sale.
We therefore advise those attempting to drag NANS into partisan political warfare to look elsewhere.
We will engage with government, but we will not become government.
We will appeal constructively, but we will not become opposition.
And above all:
WE WILL CONTINUE TO SPEAK FOR THE STUDENTS.
The 24th August press conference was about students, it remains about students, and no amount of political manipulation will change that fact.
We call on His Excellency, Sen. Hope Uzodinma, to look beyond the political interpretations being attached to our statements and focus on the substance of the issues raised.
The students are not the enemy.
The student leaders are not the enemy.
A student asking government to do more is not an opposition politician.
Our door remains open for constructive dialogue, and our hands remain extended in partnership with the Government of Imo State for the advancement of Nigerian students.
We will respect constituted authority, but we will not surrender the voice of the students.
We will cooperate with government, but we will not compromise our independence.
We will commend where necessary, challenge where necessary, and speak whenever the interest of the students demands it.
NANS IS FOR THE STUDENTS — NOT FOR OPPOPARTIES.
SIGNED:
COMR. OGBUEHI CHIKWADO PIUS
PUBLIC RELATIONS OFFICER
NANS ZONE F, SOUTHEAST