Former presidential spokesman and Arise News anchor, Reuben Abati, on Thursday faulted the National Association of Nigerian Students, NANS, for inspecting road projects in some parts of the country and reporting their findings to the Minister of Works, Dave Umahi.
Abati said the students should be in their classes studying instead of inspecting road projects.
The NANS delegation, led by its President, Comrade Babatunde Akinteye Afeez, had embarked on a nationwide Federal Roads Project Tour, inspecting projects in parts of the North-West and other areas of the country.
Following their inspection, the students commended the quality, durability and pace of construction on the projects visited, while identifying areas requiring additional attention, particularly pedestrian bridges around tertiary institutions where major highways intersect with campus access routes.
Receiving the report of the tour, Umahi said what particularly impressed him was that the students independently requested access to project sites across the six geopolitical zones.
According to him, even when the Ministry of Works offered to assist with logistics, the students declined, insisting that they wanted to see the projects themselves and form their own assessment.
However, speaking on Arise Television’s Morning Show, Abati described the NANS road tour as ‘curious’.
He said, “Minister Umahi was talking to a group of students, NANS. They went on an inspection of Federal Government road projects in Kano, Jigawa, Kaduna, all the way to Sokoto State and the whole of the North-West.
“And they brought a report to the Minister of Works that this is what we have observed. Please how is it that Nigerian students are now the ones going about inspecting road projects?
“These are students, NANS is an association of students. Why are these students not focusing on their studies? Why are they becoming politicians going about inspecting projects and giving reports to the minister?
“When I was a student, we were very serious people, you have to stay on campus, you have to attend classes, but now students are inspecting road projects and I find that very curious.”
Why are students inspecting road projects – Reuben Abati tackles Umahi, NANS