NANS Gives Benue Govt Five-Day Ultimatum, Threatens Nationwide Protest Over Tertiary Institutions’ Closure
The National Association of Nigerian Students (NANS) has given the Benue State Government a five-day ultimatum to resolve its disputes with the state chapters of the Colleges of Education Academic Staff Union (COASU) and the Academic Staff Union of Polytechnics (ASUP) and reopen tertiary institutions across the state.
NANS, in a public notice signed by its Deputy Senate President, Caleb King Ogabidu, on Monday, said students in the affected institutions had been out of school for more than two months, describing the prolonged closure as unacceptable and detrimental to their academic future.
The students’ body directed its structures to commence mobilisation for a peaceful demonstration in Makurdi on Friday, September 25, 2026, if the government fails to resolve the disputes and return students to their classrooms within the stipulated period.
In the notice titled, “Notice of Mass Mobilisation to Makurdi, Benue State — Friday 25th September 2026 Over the Perpetual Closure of Tertiary Institutions in the State,” NANS accused the state government of neglecting the education sector.
The association said the continued closure had kept thousands of students away from academic activities, stressing that education remained fundamental to societal development and should be a priority of government.
NANS said its intervention was necessary because, as the apex body representing Nigerian students, it had a responsibility to protect and advocate the interests and rights of students.
The association’s first demand is for the Benue State Government to resolve its outstanding disputes with COASU and ASUP, while also concluding arrangements to reintegrate affected students and restore normal academic activities.
NANS warned that failure to reach an agreement with the unions and reopen the institutions within five working days would trigger the mobilisation of its members across the country.
“That failure to reach an agreement and to return our students to their classrooms within five working days from today, we will be left with no option other than to mobilise our members across the country to drive home our demands,” the association stated.
It added that the academic future of thousands of students should not be jeopardised by the unresolved dispute between the government and the affected unions.
The institutions affected by the strike and prolonged closure include Benue State Polytechnic, Ugbokolo; Akpereshi Polytechnic, Yandev, Gboko; Akawe Torkula Polytechnic, Makurdi; Benue State College of Education, Oju; and College of Education, Katsina-Ala.
NANS urged students of the affected institutions to remain steadfast, assuring them that its leadership was committed to securing their return to the classrooms.
The association subsequently directed all its structures to commence mobilisation for a peaceful demonstration upon the expiration of the ultimatum if the government fails to meet its demands.
The planned demonstration is expected to take place in Makurdi on September 25, with NANS maintaining that the action would be peaceful.
The development comes amid continued disruption of academic activities in the affected institutions, with the students’ body insisting that a swift resolution between the state government and the unions is necessary to end the prolonged closure.