The National Association of Nigerian Students (NANS) has appealed to Senator Solomon Adeola, popularly known as Yayi, to urgently investigate the distribution of mini buses he donated to higher institutions in Ogun State.
The student body says it is concerned about allegations that the buses may have been hijacked or even sold off instead of being used for student transportation as originally planned.
The senator had recently facilitated the donation of five mini buses to each tertiary institution in Ogun State. The gesture, he noted, was part of his effort to ease the transportation difficulties many students face on campus. He also made this known while presenting bursary and scholarship awards to students from the state.
However, NANS, through its Ogun Joint Campus Committee Chairman, Gabriel Abiola Francis, has raised concerns about how the buses are being handled. In a statement signed on Friday, Gabriel claimed that instead of the buses being handed over to student representatives, some school management teams have taken control of them.
“Some heads of the tertiary institutions have refused to hand over the buses to the Student Union Governments in their schools, claiming that the buses were exclusively for the school management,” he stated.
NANS also noted that their investigations revealed the buses may have ended up in the hands of individuals assigned to distribute them, and that many of these vehicles were never seen on campuses.
“NANS similarly learnt that most of the buses have been allegedly sold off, hence, the unavailability of the vehicles on the campuses,” Gabriel added.
He further said that even the three institutions that received the buses have not allowed students access to them, which contradicts Senator Adeola’s original directive.
Gabriel expressed disappointment over the situation, saying it defeats the purpose of the donation. He warned that if the issue is not resolved quickly, NANS might be forced to organize peaceful protests at the affected campuses.
He called on Senator Adeola to look into the matter personally and establish a proper committee to ensure that the buses reach the students as intended. Gabriel believes that only a firm follow-up from the senator can prevent what he described as a “commendable initiative” from being wasted.
