Comrade Ayiti Adebayo Timothy (President)
INTRODUCTION In recognition of the salient objectives connote by Independence, Vis a Vis the imperative of burning issues in the Education sector crying for urgent and deserving attention, the above named union conveyed an extra-ordinary congress with over 700 students across various campuses in Nigeria in attendance. The following were extensively deliberated upon forming the AGENDA of the CONGRESS. STATE BURSARY. The congress consolidated on the Press Release of Governor Kayode Fayemi reported in THE NATION NEWSPAPER on February 10 2011, and expressed their grievances that the State Government has not been responsive to the agitations of the Students. The congress further opined that the argument in some quarters that the State bursary has been merged with that of the Local government is no longer tenable as we can’t be fooled. So long that the local govt bursary and state bursary exists on a separate platform in other parts of the country, then ours can’t be different. The congress expressed willingness to use the last means of Studentocratic agiation to press home our demand for a comprehensive state bursary to be paid by Ekiti State Government. STATE SCHOLARSHIP. The congress noted with heavy displeasure that the almost one year of Dr Kayode Fayemi’s administration has failed to pay the pending scholarship, this we hold in categorical terms as condemnable. The delay tactic employed by the ministry of education to this effect is glaring enough for the blind to see, needless to even mention is the high degree of sharp practices that the schlarship scheme is ridden with, this we believe is due to the huge amount involved, the nepotism attached to the scheme has also made it become short of acceptability. From all objective points and analysis, it could be discovered that the scholarship scheme has failed to bridge the needed gap, hence, the congress called for its replacement with a comprehensive State Bursary Scheme. STATE OF TERTIARY EDUCATION IN EKITI STATE. The congress took cognisance of the merger of the three Universities in Ekiti State, but expressed serious resentment that Students movement were not duly carried along in the process of renaming the University. The congress chided the State Government for her absolute intolerance towards genuine studentocratic agitation as reflected by the proscription of the Students Union Government of the College of Education Ikere Ekiti and lately the Ekiti State University owing to pockets of peaceful demonstration. The congress viewed the clampdown on Students Union structures as barbaric, Undemocratic and self serving and call for an immediate reversal of the policies to avoid a more decisive commotion with the Students combatants. The congress issued the following resolution; 1) The Congress issued a 7 DAY ultimatum to Ekiti State Government to re-instate the State Bursary for the rank and file of Ekiti Students in tertiary institutins across the globe. 2)We call for an immediate review and total overhauling of the Scholarship structure as we again reiterate our preference for state bursary. 3)We demand immediate and unconditional re-reinstatement of the proscribed Students Union of the College of education Ikere Ekiti and Ekiti State University. 4)We demand that the management of Ekiti State University honour their initial agreement with the 200level students as any thing contrary is an invitation to perpetual anarchy. DECLARATION; We declare unequivocally that the grace/of seven days given to the government to accede to all the above listed demands expires on Thursday 30th September 2011. Meanwhile, we call on all our students and sympathisers to get prepared for a mass rally to protest the unbecoming trend of events. Details of this shall be appropriately communicated at the expiration of the stipulated ultimatum.
