NUGS warn politicians to stay away

The President of the National Union of Ghana Students (NUGS), Kwaku Touhu Bombason says it remains committed to the protection of the interest of students in the country and not to serve and promote the political interest of any person or institution. The Union has therefore warned political parties and politicians to discontinue any plans of using the Union and its officers to meet their personal objectives.

NUGS President Touhu Bombason, speaking to the dailyEXPRESS from Tamale, said the current executives are working hard to change the rather unfortunate legacy of political sycophancy inherited from the previous NUGS administration.

NUGS, the once vibrant student's group noted for the championing of the cause of students has over the last few years lost vim, remains largely unrecognized while student issues are championed more by smaller groups or remain unresolved.

This has led to accusations by many students that the leadership of the student's body has become a political safe zone, with the occupants working against the interest of their members.
dailyEXPRESS has gathered that political influencing of NUGS leadership is not a recent phenomenon, but one that started many years ago and involves huge financial inducements from the politicians.

NUGS President Kwaku Bombason says neither he nor other members of his executive can be bought over by government, stressing that they are committed to ensuring students welfare.

“I have got no money because no politician has given me anything,” he said. “I'm sorry, sir, nobody has given me a pin.”
“We know ourselves and we check each other,” he strongly defended his colleagues. “My executives don't have any political ambitions for now” he added.
The focus of the current NUGS leadership, according to Bombason, is to position the Union as a strong body akin to what it was a decade and more ago.

He indicated that it is important for members who are on campuses across the country to take the Union's activities seriously, admitting though that it will take hard work on the part of leadership to promote the welfare of students to achieve that.

Mr. Bombason also told the dailyEXPRESS that part of the reasons for the apparent lack of interest in the Union's activities is partly due to the weak finances of the group.

He announced that a strategic plan would soon be inaugurated detailing the specifics of what NUGS will be doing to re-position itself.

Part of the plan is the construction of a modern office for the Union. The NUGS President rejected suggestions that the Union has lost its relevance, rendering it unattractive to stake holders in the educational sector.

Author: Mathias AMOAH
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