From Laide Raheem, Abeokuta
The National Association of Nigerian Students (NANS), Ogun Joint Campus Committee (JCC) has berated a chieftain of the Peoples Democratic Party in Ogun State, Segun Showunmi over his unsavory comments on Governor Dapo Abiodun.
The students in a statement jointly signed by the state NANS chairman, Damilola Simeon and the National President of National Association of Ogun State Students (NAOSS), Ogunronbi Gbemileke described Showunmi as a “hypocrite who has never seen anything good in people”.
Showunmi had in a news report published by an online medium said  Governor Abiodun was running Ogun as a Level 13 civil servant.
But the student bodies in the statement carpeted Showunmi who was the spokesperson of the Abubakar Atiku Presidential Campaign Organisation in the 2019 general election and accused him of  “selling his conscience to the highest bidder”.
“To be frank, constructive and conscientious criticism from a credible source should always be welcomed by government. However, when criticism comes as a commercial venture in order to unscrupulously receive gratification, then it must be rebutted instantly.
“Such is the case of Mr. Segun Showunmi, whose uninformed utterances have gathered undue attention in the media.
“Coming from a supposed elder statesman who have enjoyed all his life, the largesse derived from the toilings of civil servants in form of dividends of democracy, the statement is not only preposterous and unbecoming, it also point towards amnesia.
“We await the day he will seek for the votes of the civil servants in the state, who are rated as one of the best in the country, then, we will remind our parents of this monumental insult.
“If anyone must criticise the government, it should not be Showunmi who has a record of speaking from both sides of his mouth.
“This is because constructive criticism is a fundamental feature of democracy and must not be tainted by people whose intention is to increase their waning relevance and generate unmerited attention.
“Finally, we hereby call on responsible and dignified individuals who are not political merchants and jobbers to air objective criticism so we can further drive Ogun State forward”, the statement stated.