Bamigbola Gbolagunte, Akure
Student leaders from various tertiary institutions in Ondo State on Tuesday denied endorsing Governor Rotimi Akeredolu for second term in office.
The Students Union Government (SUG) Presidents from the tertiary institutions in the state dissociated themselves from claim that Ondo students had endorsed Akeredolu, saying the claim was a political gimmick.
The President, SUG of Adekunle Ajasin University, Akungba-Akoko (AAUA), Daniel Obagunwa who read a press statement issued and signed by all the SUG presidents, said at no time did any student group endorsed Akeredolu.
The statement reads in parts, “The entire Students Union Government Presidents across all campuses in Ondo State hereby dissociate ourselves from the publication from an unrecognized body, Aketi Students Support Group, connecting us with a declaration of support for the second term bid of the incumbent governor, Mr Rotimi Akeredolu.
“We as students leaders have series of requests on the table of Mr. Governor seeking full reversal of the tuition increments across all campuses. We also demand full implementation of all agreements earlier reached with the students to uplift infrastructure on campuses.”
Obagunwa alleged that SUG presidents across higher institutions in the state had been offered bribe to endorse Governor Akeredolu, but they turned down the offer because the governor had refused to reverse the increment in tuitions of all state-owned institutions in the state.
The angry student leaders therefore called on state Commissioner for Youths and Sports, Dotun Owanikin, to call the group championing the re-election of Akeredolu to order.
He hinted that the SUG presidents across all institutions of higher learning in the state had written and submitted a petition to the state Commissioner of Police to effect the arrest of the group of impostors, who they said are not students.
They urged the Police Commissioner, Bolaji Salami to take action immediately in order to avoid face-off between them and the impostors who they said are  denting the image of authentic students of tertiary institutions in the state.