Threaten mass protest

Student leaders of the National Open University of Nigeria (NOUN) have asked the Federal Government to allow them to participate in the National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) and also have their Law graduates admitted into the Nigerian Law Schools.

The student leaders made the plea on Thursday when they paid a courtesy visit to the National Speaker of the Nigerian Students Parliament (NSP), Rt. Hon. Mubarak Aliyu Rimi, in his office, NSP Chamber of the Young Parliamentarians Forum, House of Representatives wing, National Assembly, Abuja.

In a press statement addressed to the NSP National Speaker, and signed by the coordinator of NOUN NYSC/Law School saga, Segun Oyewale, the students threatened that they would embark on mass protest should their demands be ignored.

Oyewale, a former Public Relations Officer of NOUN Students Forum, while congratulating the Speaker on his emergence as National Speaker at the just concluded NSP national convention noted that they have confidence in him and gave all glory to God for enabling a dogged fighter, articulate comrade and an aluta commander like him to emerge as Nigerian students Speaker at this time in history.

The NSP National Speaker thanked the students leadership for their visit and promised a quick response to their demands.

He affirmed that in the next seating of NSP, the parliament will ask the Federal Government to implement the NOUN Act that allows graduates of the institution to participate in NYSC and Law School.

He noted it as an act of injustice that graduates of NOUN could not have the same rights, benefits and privileges like their mates in conventional federal owned universities.

According to Mubarak, “statistically , NOUN students are the ones paying the highest amount of money as Federal University students compared to other Federal Universities in the country,” and wondered why “anything about NOUN is always delayed unlike those in other universities experience."

“It is no more news that the bill that allows National Open University graduates to participate in NYSC Scheme/Law School has been signed by President Muhammadu Buhari since December 04, 2018.

“However, nothing has been done so far to implement it. I will ensure that we in the students' parliament in our next seating, call the attention of our leaders in the House of Representatives, especially those of them that are members of the Young Parliamentarians Forum to look into this lingering matter once and for all," Mubarak stated.

The National Open University of Nigeria (NOUN) is a Federal Open and Distance Learning institution accredited by the National University Commission (NUC), being the first of its kind in the West African sub-region. It is Nigeria’s largest tertiary institution in terms of student population.

• NOUN delegation with NSP Speaker, Rt. Hon. Mubarak Aliyu Rimi