The National Association of Nigerian Students has hinted that payment of its proposed annual ₦200 dues may become a requirement for students seeking mobilisation for the National Youth Service Corps scheme.

The NANS National President, Akinteye Babatunde, disclosed this in a Facebook post on Sunday and Monday while discussing the organisation’s finances and plans to change how its dues are collected.

Babatunde had earlier said NANS would work with the NYSC, and that students might need proof of payment of the association’s dues to be mobilised for camp.

He wrote, “We will be working with NYSC and one of the criteria to be mobilised for camp is NANS dues receipt.”

However, in a video posted on Monday, Babatunde explained that the association was considering a system that would allow it to collect its dues directly from students rather than relying on student union governments and institutional managements.

He said the annual dues were only ₦200 per student.

According to him, the proposed system was not intended to place an additional financial burden on students but to ensure that NANS had the resources needed to operate independently and represent students effectively.

He said, “This is not an avenue to stress the students further because the due is as low as 200 Naira per student in a year, 200 Naira one year per student.”

Babatunde said the dues were meant to be distributed among the various structures of NANS, including the zonal level, state structures and affiliated student bodies.

He explained that the organisation had struggled to receive its expected capitation from student union governments in recent years.

He said, “We are considering moving from getting the due to capitation to get it to have a platform where we can get it directly from students.”

The NANS president alleged that about 80 to 90 per cent of student union governments were no longer in control of their dues, claiming that some institutions released only a fraction of the money collected to their student unions.

He said this had weakened NANS financially and affected its ability to intervene in student-related issues.

Babatunde also cited the University of Benin as an example, alleging that the institution’s management frustrated the student union government’s efforts to access its dues after the union opposed an increase in school fees.

He said, “One of the ways to cripple the organisation is to make it lack funds, to be short of funds.”

According to him, NANS had continued to carry out activities despite the financial challenges, including visiting campuses and intervening in cases involving students.

He, however, argued that students could not expect the organisation to operate effectively without contributing financially to it.

Babatunde said, “How can you feel the impact correctly, if you are not putting your money where your mouth is? This is an organisation for all of us.”

He also argued that NANS should be financially independent from government officials and other individuals whose support could potentially affect the organisation’s ability to challenge government agencies on behalf of students.

He said, “How do you want people to run to politicians or government to seek their support and when they have issues with the agencies, they still want to stand and fight those agencies?”

The NANS president said the organisation was therefore looking at working with agencies connected to students to develop a system through which the ₦200 dues could be paid directly to NANS.

He said, “We are going towards [agencies] to cooperate with to get this due directly to the organisation, no more to the management, no more to the SUGs, but directly to the organisation.”

Babatunde said NANS would also amend its laws and develop proposals to provide the new system with the necessary institutional backing.

He added that the changes might not fully benefit the current administration but would, in his view, strengthen the organisation for future administrations.

He said, “We are going to amend our laws, we are going to have different proposals and see how we will start getting our due directly to the organisation.”

Babatunde further disclosed that the organisation had received thousands of complaints from students, arguing that NANS needed stronger financial capacity to respond to such cases.

He said, “When I speak to you, I have about 3,000, 4,000 emails of student complaints… genuine complaints.”

He added that NANS had previously spent money responding to student emergencies, including the case of students who were kidnapped, and had also incurred expenses from accidents involving its buses.

He said, “Where are those money coming from? Organisation that does not have dues.”

While Babatunde’s comments suggest that NANS is considering linking its dues payment to the NYSC mobilisation process, he did not provide details on how such an arrangement would be implemented or when it would take effect.

The NYSC has its own statutory eligibility and mobilisation procedures, and any new requirement involving NANS dues would have to be formally established before it could become an official condition for mobilisation.

Babatunde maintained that the proposed direct payment system was aimed at making NANS financially independent and giving it greater capacity to advocate for Nigerian students.

He said, “This is not to pressure the student, it is just about doing the right thing that is necessary, so that the other organisation can also be independent, so that the organisation can also stand on its own and do things properly.” (PUNCH)

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