The National Association of Polytechnic Students (NAPS) has declared former Labour Party presidential candidate, Peter Obi, persona non grata across all Nigerian polytechnic campuses, citing his failure to retract false claims regarding student violence at Auchi Polytechnic in Edo State.
Speaking at a press briefing in Abuja on Monday, NAPS President Eshiofune Paul Oghayan faulted Obi’s handling of the Auchi Polytechnic student union election crisis, accusing him of spreading unverified and misleading information.
Oghayan said, “Mr. Obi, without due verification, recently misled the public with false information regarding the Student Union Government (SUG) elections in Auchi Polytechnic.
“In a widely circulated statement, he claimed: ‘I watched a heartbreaking video that showed students in Auchi Polytechnic in Edo State running for their lives as they were being shot at during their student election yesterday, which left two students dead and several injured.’”
Oghayan described the claim as “not only false but reckless,” saying it painted a wrong picture of the incident and unfairly linked the violence to Nigeria’s political leadership.
The students’ body said it had earlier demanded a public retraction and apology from Obi, which he failed to deliver.
The NAPS president said, “We, as the direct custodians of student welfare, held a press conference and called on Mr. Obi to retract the statement and issue a public apology, especially to the student community of Auchi Polytechnic.
“But he remained silent. The same man who built his campaign around ‘go and verify’ failed to verify before peddling unsubstantiated claims. That is not leadership; it is manipulation.”
Following what it termed Obi’s “unrepentant silence,” the students’ association invoked a nationwide ban on his access to all polytechnic campuses.
“By the moral authority and constitutional responsibility vested in the office of the President of NAPS, I, Comrade Eshiofune Paul Oghayan, hereby declare Mr. Peter Obi as persona non grata on all campuses of our institutions across the country, with a mandated distance of not less than 10 kilometres from any student community,” the student leader stated.
He insisted that the declaration was not an act of vengeance but “a call for accountability.”
Oghayan also addressed Obi’s recent claims that Edo State Governor, Monday Okpebholo, had barred him from entering the state, stating that the governor’s actions were driven by security concerns and standard protocol.
He said, “Governor Okpebholo may have spoken with bluntness, but his concern was rooted in security intelligence and recent events.
“Reports confirmed that three lives were tragically lost shortly after Mr. Obi’s last visit to the state. In light of such unrest, what responsible governor would fold his arms and play passive?”
While acknowledging Obi’s ₦15 million donation to St. Philomena’s Catholic Hospital, Oghayan questioned the consistency of the former governor’s philanthropic gestures.
“This is the same Mr. Obi who famously declared during his campaign that ‘he doesn’t give shishi,’ a slogan that became both a mantra and identity of his political movement. But today, we see him making high-profile donations in public glare. Is this growth or contradiction?” he asked.
The NAPS president concluded by advising that donations to religious or healthcare institutions be done with discretion and in coordination with security agencies.
“When public donations are made to churches, hospitals, or other faith-based institutions, they must be approached with strategic discretion… Otherwise, such noble institutions may become unintended targets of violence – as evidenced by the chaos that followed his recent visit,” Oghayan warned.