2027: NANS targets 10m votes for Tinubu’s re-election

The National Association of Nigerian Students (NANS) has pledged to mobilise 10 million votes for President Bola Tinubu’s re-election in 2027.

NANS President, Akinteye Afeez, announced the plan on Wednesday when he led a delegation of student leaders from across the country to meet Vice-President Kashim Shettima at the State House, Abuja.

Afeez said the association had established a National Election Mobilisation Committee to coordinate the exercise across the six geopolitical zones.

He said the students’ support for Tinubu was informed by the administration’s policies across various sectors, particularly its interventions in education.

“As we approach another defining period in our nation’s history, we consider it necessary to state clearly where we stand as Nigerian students. As core progressives, we identify with the Renewed Hope Administration of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu,” he said.

The NANS president singled out the Nigerian Education Loan Fund (NELFUND), saying the initiative had helped address financial barriers that previously threatened students’ access to higher education.

“However, with NELFUND, our academic lives are no longer in doubt or threatened. Education has been made accessible to all,” Afeez said.

He added that the association would use its voting strength to support the continuation of the programme through a second term for Tinubu.

Responding, Shettima urged Nigerian students to take an active role in national affairs, saying young people should be recognised as stakeholders in the country’s present rather than merely its future.

“We do not need you for politics. We need you because you are the future of this country. What we have done differently is to give you a place in its present,” the Vice-President said.