Sunday Asefon, Senior Special Assistant to President Bola Tinubu on Students Engagement, has expressed commitment to open a complaints unit at the presidency to curb the menace of sexual harassments in tertiary institutions.
Asefon was speaking in Abuja on Friday during a presentation of pens to Tinubu by Nigerian students, for him to assent to the Sexual Harassment Prohibition Bill before him.
The Gender Mobile Initiative (GMI), in partnership with Nigerian students, joined forces in complementing the government’s efforts in addressing sexual and Gender-Based Violence (GBV), particularly in education settings.
Asefon, who joined his pen to the pool of donated pens, said that sexual harassment in the education system must stop through collective collaborations.
He assured that the message of the Nigerian students would be delivered to President Tinubu in due course.
“I receive this pens in good fate and will deliver the message accordingly. I assure you that the president who is our father, would do the needful on this bill.
” We’ve heard a lot of cases of sexual harassments by lecturers on female students and the female students with boldness report these cases but because of the lecturers influence, the cases are swept under the carpet.
“This bill will give judgment to criminalise sexual harassment offenders.
” And I want to assure you that my office will collaborate to renew the fight against sexual harassment and sex-for-marks in our institutions,” he said.
Earlier, Miss Benita Olaniyan, Erstwhile Students Union President, University of Abuja, called on the president to immediately look into the bill before him and append his signature to end any form of molestations against students.
“Education system is supposed to be a safe place for learning but students have been harassed and sexually molested.
“The students across higher institutions of learning in this country, in their goodwill, have donated these pens to the president and we believe there will be stricter punishment for offenders,” she said.
Presenting the pens to the president, Daniel Ayeni, who spoke on behalf of Nigerian students, said the presentation served as a framework in accenting to the bill.
Ayeni noted that the framework was, however, paramount to making progress in ending the menace.
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