EXCLUSIVE: Pandemonium as NAKSS tussles over leadership
….There is political undertone – Suspended NAKSS President
….He deserve more than suspension – Senate
….He lied to all Executives on state of finance – Acting President
….Suspension by senate; an aberration of law I also benefited – Ex-Acting President
….. Senate has right to Suspend – Ex-Senate President
….The position of the students stands – KWSG As Kwara Police Commissioner intervene Today
The Executive and Senate Arm of the National Association of Kwara State Students (NAKSS) have not been finding it rosy within couples of weeks having been confronted with series of logger head in what can be best described as a tussle over the leadership of the association.
The chaos led to the recent suspension of the Association President Comr. Musa Muhammed Mancha, over an alleged financial misconduct by the Senate Arm of the association.
According to some of the student body official who spoke exclusively to CAMPUS FOCUS, the uproar was not unconnected to financial misappropriation within the organization and other issues.
Speaking to this medium in an interview yesterday the suspended president alleged the suspension was a plot to impeach him.
“Interest is involved in everything that is going on. Part of the revelation I have gotten is that I can perceive an influence of the political angle, there is a political undertone; they are trying to create a divide and rule system.
“As far as I am concern there is nothing like suspension. The day they met for the plotted suspension sitting, they were locked later lcoked out of the venue by the some police officers on duty after they had some rancor and later concluded outside putting the maze on top of a well and ended with no one moving a motion for suspension. All I later saw was a statement signed by the senate president who was not even the one that presided over that meeting that very day because he was also alleged of same financial misappropriation.
Mancha while affirming his status as President of the Association stated that the Senate lacks the constitutional power to suspend him. Adding that, the constitution only allocated the power of suspension to the Congress.
On allegation of negotiation of the Student bursary with the state government, he said “I have never done anything of such, I have never had any meeting or negotiation with the state government in respect to the bursary and above all I have never misappropriated any fund of the association whatsoever and as a matter of fact I am a man of integrity and by the grace of God I have worked tirelessly in this administration to ensure that we succeed and there is achievement in this administration.
On the issue of bank account for the association Mancha said the student body has not been able to meet the requirement to open an account.
“You know some of the requirement that most banks do request, we don’t even have dues to put in the account. Most of the money that has been coming in has been in form of mobilization and demobilization which are used for those purposes.
Mancha however assured the students of his commitment to ensure a transparent tenure and deliver on his mandate.
Meanwhile the Senate of the student body has said that the suspension followed due process according to the law.
The Senate President Comr. Abdulazeez Ahmed El-Imam in a similar interview also said the house didn’t resolve to direct impeachment but suspension in order to ensure a period of investigation on the allegation according to the law.
“The house does not want a continuity of the misappropriation of the Associations fund. Hence we resolved on suspension. If you look at the level of allegations and the evidence, he deserved direct impeachment but you know as the law, you have to carry out other investigations on some other issues.
“And you can imagine because of his selfish interest we have passed several resolutions on the opening of bank account for the association but he will not implement it. For over 7 months the association has operated without a bank account.”
When asked on the allegation from the suspended president that he as the senate president is also guilty of same offense, El-Imam said “It’s an act to divert people’s attention from himself. You know if a fish is been removed from the water, it will struggle hard. That is what he is doing.
“If he has the students interest at heart he is not suppose to be running from one security agencies or up and down but to charge the case to the judiciary arm of the student body.
In the same vain, the acting President Comr. Abdullahi Ibrahim Paranti while expressuing disappointment over the lingering, urged the suspended president to charge his case to the judicial arm of the association.
“We are really disappointed on this issue. Mancha didn’t do well at all. He has been lying to all the executives. At a point he denied receiving any money from the state government. Until the security agencies became involved before he later accepted to me after he had gotten information from stakeholders in the state.
“Of course we have a judicial arm in the association, if Mancha is not satisfied with the senate resolution, he should charge the case to the judiciary.
Meanwhile a former acting president of the association Comr. Dosunmu Kamal Ishola has said that the suspension of the president is an aberration of the law which he also benefited.
“The position of the senate suspending an elected officer has been a constitution aberration for so long and has now become a tradition which is against the constitution of the union.
“Am also a beneficiary of that act because I was an acting president after the suspension of the president by the senate council which was suppose not to be so.
“And we cannot continue like that, what senate is to do according to the constitution is to refer it to the congress of student. Its only the body that has the constitutional right to suspend or dismiss any executive officer.
While explaining further the constitutional process of suspension Ishola said “the senate is suppose to establish a panel which will submit a report to the senate. The report will then be transmit to the executive council, who will now summon the Congress to look into the issue.
“At the congress; they will decide that the President cannot be a judge in his own case while the vice president cannot also sit over the congress because he is going to be a direct beneficiary as he will be the one to become the acting president, so the director general will be the one to sit. The decision of the congress after proper consideration will be what will the be binding.
Speaking on the issue of bank account, Ishola stated that the Mancha led administration didn’t call the past administration for change of signatory, hence the believe by the past administration that a new bank account must have been opened “I am just hearing that there is no bank account for the first time. They didn’t call us for change of signatory because our administration operated a bank account. I thought maybe they had opened another account. He added
Meanwhile a former NAKSS Senate President Comr. Nura Muhammed who was on sit during the emergence of Ex-Ag. President Ishola Administration has countered him on his position regarding the Senate.
Muhammed stated that the constitution has not in any way been bridged through the suspension. According to him, “you cannot ask a Sitting President who has been accused of offence to agree to summon a congress against himself.
While recalling other suspension of Presidents in the past, the former senate boss disclosed that not less than 3 Presidents had face the same process. “This was the same resolution of the house that Ishola enjoyed during our tenure.”
However the Kwara State government has said the students have their say on who govern over their activities.
The kwara State governor Alhaji Abdulfatah Ahmed through his Special Adviser on Students Affair Architect Lamidi Akanbi lamak stated in a phone chat with this medium that the students should uphold what their law said about any irregularities.
“The state government has been officially informed about the suspension of the president and that the vice president has taking charge.
“The students elected those that govern them and they have the right to decide at any point in time.
“Whatsoever allegation they have against him is their internal organization issue. Were am concern as the S.A of Student affairs is that I believe we should uphold what the law says about any irregularities.
Meanwhile it has been disclosed to this medium by a reliable source that the duo will be having a meeting with the Kwara State Commissioner of Police Fafowora Bolaji today to resolve on the issues.
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