By: Mnena Iyorkegh, Abuja
A civil society organization, Education for Accelerated Development (EAD) has described the recent allegation by the factional president of National Association of Nigerian Students (NANS), Comrade Atiku Abubakar Isah against Seyi Tinubu, son of President Tinubu as hoax and piece of fabrication.
The factional NANS president had accused Seyi Tinubu of bribery, torture and abduction.
He also accused him of attempting to disrupt the inauguration of NANS leadership in Abuja, dispersed crowd with thugs and locked up inauguration venue, allegations EAD says are baseless and unfounded.
In a statement, EAD wondered how the factional NANS president arrived at the conclusion that the son of the President had a hand in his so called abduction but refused to report to the security agencies, instead took to the social media, calling it a targeted attempt to malign and discredit Seyi Tinubu.
It also picked a hole on the allegation that N100m was offered to him by Seyi to support his father in an election that is still two years away, by which time Isah will not be in office “assuming he was even the authentic NANS”, president.
In a statement, the National coordinator, Education for Accelerated Development (EAD )Dr. Abdulkadir Fuad, urged members of the public to ignore the allegation as it represents a desperate attempt by the accuser to seek sympathy and relevance from his pay masters.
The statement reads in part: “To begin with, the man masquerading as NANS president is an impostor and impersonator who goes about seeking cheap relevance in the name of the students body. The last we checked, NANS president was Olusola Ladoja, who is the legitimately and legally recognised leaders of Nigerian students.
Dr. Faud, also noted that: “Isah is claiming that he is being offered a bribe of N100m to support the re-election of President Bola Tinubu. This is totally untrue. The election is in 2027 and the President’s son is busy pushing for better welfare for Nigerian youths in his father’s administration and is least concerned about election that is still two years away.
“Assuming he was even the authentic NANS, would he remain in office till 2027 when election will take place, for an office that is just one year term? This is ridiculous and smacks of desperation to malign”, he noted
He added that: “When the President won in 2023, was it with the support of someone like Isah or the collective mandate of an overwhelming majority of Nigerians? He won against all odds outside office, and the masses who backed him in 2023 are even happier with reforms he has initiated to boost the nation’s socio-economic landscape”, the group stated.
The Group, stressed that, “If at all Isah was abducted anywhere within the country, he should report to security agencies, challenging him to tender evidence of bribery against Seyi Tinubu”.
The group said Isah and his sponsors are envious of the public acceptance the President’s son is gaining among the youth population in every part of the country as someone who has used his platforms to empower and develop young people.
The group therefore called on his detractors to end their unprovoked defamation against Seyi Tinubu.
