The election of the National Association of the Nigerian Students (NANS) slated for Thursday has already toured the leaders of the All Progressives Congress (APC) against each other.
The various interests over the emergence of a new National President of NANS, Wednesday, degenerated into display of forces and physical assault at the national secretariat of the APC.
A group of the APC youths had stormed the national secretariat to protest the choice of the national chairman Abdullahi Adamu for the NANS’s presidency against the preferred candidate of APC presidential candidate Bola Ahmed Tinubu.
The said protest later turned to free for all when security details attached to the party secretariat and the protesters who are members of the National Association of Nigerian Students (NANS) engaged each other.
There were, however, release of several canisters of teargas freely by the Police to disperse the angry NANS members sending the secretariat staff to scamper for safety.
The party management, thereafter ordered security beefed up around the secretariat.
Narrating the incident to our correspondent, a source said a former aspirant for position of National Youth Leader, Segun Dada, had led a delegation to brief the party’s leadership over NANS election.
The source added that Hon. Dada was at the secretariat to meet the leadership during the NWC meeting and brief them on how the elements of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in APC plan to hijack the election.
Dada had worked at the national secretariat because for some years before he joined Tinubu campaign team.
“Yes, Dada was on genuine mission to brief the leadership on how PDP elements in APC have hijacked the election, as directed by the youth leader.
“But what we cannot understand was why he came with those hefty boys that fought the security agents. It was bad that the Chief Security Officer (CSO) of the party was molested by those boys that came with Dada,” the source explained.
Another source however attributed the fracas to extension of the cold war between the chairman of the party and the presidential candidate from NANS factions loyal to them.
Also, a dependable source who is a NANS stakeholder from the South-west, told our Correspondent that “One of the candidates for Thursday’s election, Umar Farouk from BUK Kano is Tinubu’s choice, while Usman Baba Kankia from ABU Zaria is the initial choice of Abullahi Adamu and the presidency. However, Usman Baranbu Federal University Dutse is the popular choice of student leaders and stakeholders. So, what happened at the secretariat was display of forces and a dress rehearsal and litmus test of what to expect during Thursday’s NANS election.
“The protest is sponsored by the Tinubu group who feel the boy being supported by the Northern group enjoying the popular support will not be loyal to the Tinubu presidential agenda.”
