The Nigerian National Assembly has urged the National Universities Commission (NUC) to suspend academic activities in universities nationwide to allow eligible students participate in the 2023 general election.
The House of Representatives called on the relevant authorities in the education sector, particularly the National Universities Commission, to cause the suspension of academic activities for the period during plenary on Thursday.
The resolution came after the plenary on Thursday considered a motion sponsored by Hon. Kabir Ibrahim.
In presenting the motion, Ibrahim claimed that students constituted 40% of newly registered voters in states other than the state where their university was located.
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He argued that it was their constitutional right to vote in elections and that they should therefore be allowed to vote.
The motion was eventually adopted by the House, securing the majority’s support.
In a related development, SaharaReporters had reported that some students at the Federal University of Technology Minna (FUTH) in Niger State requested that their second-semester examination schedule for the 2020/2021 academic session be rescheduled so that they could travel to their respective states for the 2023 general election.
FUT MINNA is a public university of about 20,000 students, offering Bachelor of Technology and Master of Technology in various technology-inclined fields.
General elections will be held in Nigeria on February 25, 2023 to elect the President and Vice President and members of the Senate and House of Representatives.
SaharaReporters learnt that the management of the school fixed some examinations, such as CHE 228, CIE 221, MCE 321, ABE 526, to hold a day before the general election and some courses for Monday, February 27, 2023 (two days after the poll).
A student who spoke to SaharaReporters on condition of anonymity had lamented that with the arrangement, he would have no time to travel to his state to vote.