NUGS leadership urged to build stronger association
The Deputy Minister of Education in charge of Tertiary Education, Mr Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa, has launched the 50th anniversary of the National Union of Ghana Students (NUGS) with a call on the leadership to see the need to focus more on building a stronger association that would offer quality assistance and support that would positively impact on the welfare of students.
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He said the leadership of the association should not allow the intimidation of any political party or group to shut them out, since all the benefits currently enjoyed by the NUGS were as a result of bold speeches made by past leaders.
Addressing some of the members and leaders of the NUGS at the launch of the anniversary in Accra, Mr Ablakwa, who is a former president of the NUGS, said the association risked becoming irrelevant if the leadership allowed external influence to affect their work.
"The current NUGS executive must understand that a strong foundation has been built by past leaders that needS to be protected and continued," he said.
Strong association
Mr Ablakwa said it was regrettable that the NUGS, in recent times, had engaged in fighting battles that didn't promote and protect the welfare of the students. He stressed that "fighting battles such as the allowances of students and teachers is not an issue NUGS should focus more on because these things do not promote the welfare of students."
He said as part of plans to make NUGS more credible, the current executive should show more commitment to the welfare of the students they represented.
NUGS warns
In his welcome address, the President of the NUGS, Mr Michael Paa-Quecy Adu, commended the past executives of the association for the role they played in building the foundation of the NUGS.
He said over the past years, the NUGS had dedicated itself to promoting the welfare of students and ensuring that they contributed to the growth of the nation.
"We have contributed to the development of various sectors of Ghana's growth, especially to academia and business," Mr Adu said.
He, however, said the association would fight any attempt by political parties or groups to use students or NUGS to foment trouble ahead of election 2016.
Mr Adu also urged NUGS members to resist any attempt by political parties to use them for destructive acts.
the Deputy Minister for Transport, Mrs Joyce Bawa Mogtari, urged the NUGS to continue to build on the foundation that was laid for them by their former executives.