NANS Leader Pledges 10 Million Votes for Tinubu

By Atlantic Reports

The President of the National Association of Nigerian Students (NANS), Akinteye Afeez, has pledged to mobilise 10 million votes for President Bola Tinubu’s re-election in 2027, citing the administration’s education policies, particularly its student loan programme.

Afeez made the pledge on Wednesday during a meeting with Vice-President Kashim Shettima at the Presidential Villa in Abuja.

He said NANS had established a National Election Mobilisation Committee to coordinate support across Nigeria’s six geopolitical zones.

“As the largest constituency with the highest voting bloc, we have constituted the NANS National Election Mobilisation Committee, mandated to mobilise 10 million votes across the six geopolitical zones,” he said.

The figure is a mobilisation target, rather than a verified measure of electoral support. Afeez did not provide voter-registration figures or explain how the committee would secure the proposed votes.

His pledge also does not establish the political preferences of all Nigerian students, whose electoral choices remain individual.

Student Loans Drive Endorsement

Afeez said the Nigerian Education Loan Fund (NELFUND) had helped ease financial pressures that previously forced some students to abandon their studies.

He credited the programme with improving access to education and reducing uncertainty about students’ ability to continue their academic programmes.

According to him, backing Tinubu’s re-election would support the continuity and sustainability of the scheme.

“As committed progressives, we identify with the Renewed Hope Agenda of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu,” he said.

While Afeez praised the programme’s impact, the meeting account did not include beneficiary figures, evidence of reduced dropout rates or students’ experiences of accessing the loans.

Shettima Calls for Honest Engagement

Shettima urged student leaders to engage the government fairly and honestly when they disagreed with its policies, saying an administration that heard only applause would lose information necessary for effective governance.

He said students should participate in national decision-making as stakeholders in Nigeria’s present.

“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,” he said.

The vice-president said interventions involving student loans and academic staff welfare were intended to keep students in school and reduce the financial burden on families.

He said stronger education financing, student welfare and engagement with lecturers were central to the administration’s efforts to maintain a stable academic calendar.

“We are determined that recurring strikes should cease to dictate your academic calendar,” Shettima said.

That statement represents an administration commitment, rather than confirmation that the causes of recurring industrial disputes have been resolved.

Shettima also cited the appointment of Sunday Dayo as Senior Special Assistant to the President on Students’ Engagement as part of efforts to strengthen communication between the government and students.

The meeting brought together a political endorsement from the NANS leadership and government assurances on education. For students and their families, the substantive test remains whether those policies deliver accessible funding, manageable education costs and uninterrupted learning.

Atlantic Reports: Voices. People. Facts.