NUGS cautions students, youth

Page 14
Feb 16, 2008

THE National Union of Ghana Students (NUGS) has urged students and the youth in general not to allow themselves to be used by politicians to disturb the peace of the nation during the 2008 elections.
“What all politicians must also remember is that Ghana is bigger than any individual’s parochial interest and that posterity will judge them badly if their actions or inaction leads to violence during the 2008 electioneering process and beyond,” it said.
The President of NUGS, Mr Kweku Tuoho Bombason, who stated this at a press conference in Accra on Wednesday, noted that politicians and the various political parties should allow tolerance, commitment and unity to be at play as the county entered the 2008 electioneering process.
He stressed the need for the Electoral Commission, the political parties and the government to “have all hands on deck to ensure that we have peaceful, free and fair elections”.
“In view of this, NUGS would want to call on the various presidential candidates, the political parties and their supporters to conduct issue-based campaigns with decorum and civility,” he stated, adding that “what Ghanaians want to hear from them is the type of policies and programmes they have for our educational, health and agricultural sectors, among other things, which will better their lot, not insults and vile propaganda”.
Mr Bombason, who commended the government for the coming up with the National Youth Employment Programme (NYEP), underscored the need for the challenges facing the programme to be addressed to make it more sustainable.
On education, he lauded the Ghana Education Trust Fund (GETFund) for the numerous projects it had undertaken on the various university campuses.
However, he said, the operations of the board had sometimes generated controversy and, therefore, urged the government and the GETFund Board to introduce a legislative instrument that would streamline the board’s operations.
Mr Bombason congratulated the Black Stars on their great performance during the just-ended Africa Cup of Nations (Ghana 2008).
“Ghanaians at large need a great deal of commendation for their relentless support for the Black Stars during the tournament,” he said.