Akeredolu, who spoke through his Special Assistant on Youth and Students Affairs, Banji Adewumi. berated the NANS President for allegedly twisting all that transpired during the meeting with the governor.
Adewumi accused the NANS executives of requesting for personal gratification from the governor instead of championing the case of the affected students whose predicament they negotiated with to meet the governor.
On Tuesday, Akpan had accused Governor Akeredolu of destroying the education sector in the state with what he described as obnoxious policies, adding that the governor walked them out of his office during the meeting meant to resolve issues in the state-owned tertiary institutions.
Speaking with journalists, Adewumi stated that the allegations made by the NANS President against the governor were false, he described the move as calculated attempts to misinform the public.
“Several times during the meeting, even as the governor would be talking , Akpan would interrupt and insist that he be allowed to speak. Then, he threatened that he would make the state ungovernable for the governor with protests.
“At that stage, the governor said it was the right of the students to stage protest to press home their demands, but advised that such protest should be organized peacefully without destruction of both private and public property”.
“The NANS president would not allow the governor to talk as he continued to speak and shout obscenities and threats of war, all these happened right inside the office of the governor”.
“He urged the governor to come downstairs to see the bus he came with, which he said was given to him by the Abia State Governor. He boasted about how many governors have received him with gifts.”
Adewumi, however, disclosed that the governor had directed the institution’s management to allow all students participate in continuous assessment and the examination with or without payment of the school fees.
He added that the decision to increase the school fees was solely that of the institution and assured that the state government would soon find a lasting solution to the issue.
“The governor listened to their requests and took his time to explain the situation. He explained that the decision to increase the fees was solely that of the institution but that as a father, he had intervened and directed that all the students should be allowed to write tests and examinations,” Adewumi said.
Two weeks ago, Students of Adekunle Ajasin University Akungba-Akoko, AAUA protested against the “No Fees/No Test policy” introduced by management while their counterparts at the Ondo state university of Science and Technology, OSUSTECH, Okitipupa had protested against what they described as exorbitant tuition which led to the closure of both institutions.
