The National Association of Nigerian Students (NANS), on Wednesday, lambasted Governor Dapo Abiodun for giving N5 miillion and a 3-bedroom bungalow to Laycon, asking him to rescind what it called his reckless action.
Laycon, whose real name is Olamilekan Agbelesebioba, is the winner of the 2020 Lockdown Edition of the Big Brother Naija show.
But the Ogun State chapter of NANS, said it was, “the height of irresponsibility and recklessness” that Governor Abiodun played host to Laycon and even went as far as “splashing taxpayers’ money on him.”
The students’ organisation said it could not imagine how a State Governor, during this post COVID-19 era, gave N5m cash, a 3 bedroom bungalow to Laycon and even appointed him as Ogun Youths Ambassador.
According to a statement made available to DAILY POST by the NANS Chairman in Ogun, Tomiwa Bamgbose on Thursday, the students said, they could not fold their hands and “watch the Governor squander taxpayers money” on an individual for winning BBNaija, especially during this period of economic recession.
According to Bamgbose, the poor man on the street, undergraduates who could not pay house rents or school fees, many parents who have lost their jobs and are all crying for help, wondering why “Gov Abiodun did not deem it fit to assist them.”
Bamgbose recalled that few months ago, some students from Tai Solarin University of Education, won a global competition that involved 128 teams from about 120 countries as participants.
He expressed disappointment that the students’ achievement did not attract the attention of Abiodun or any Ogun government official.
He maintained that what the governor did was a slap on the faces of all Ogun students, asking what has happened to the legacies of Ogun past and living heroes like Olabisi Onabanjo, Obafemi Awolowo, Wole Soyinka and others.
The students’ leader condemned totally, the appointment of Laycon as Ogun Youth Ambassador and “the lavish spending which was exhibited by the Governor.”
He revealed that Abiodun’s action signalled a waste, describing it as a “misplacement of priorities.”
In their demands, the students asked Abiodun to rescind his action as a matter of urgency.
While demanding Abiodun works towards providing palliatives for students in Ogun, the association asked him to fulfill his campaign promises to students in the state.
“Anything in the contrary shall be met with stiff resistance,” they threatened.