Comrade Alfred Jacinta Chinedu, the emeritus General Secretary of the National Association of Nigerian Students (NANS) South East Zone F, has announced her intention to contest for a seat in the NANS Senate.
Jacinta, a native of Umuigwe, Umualaoma in Ideato North Local Government Area of Imo State, is a Christian with a passion for research, reading, teaching others and travelling. She holds a degree in History and International Studies from the University of Uyo and is currently a 300-level Law student at Imo State University (IMSU).
Her leadership journey in student unionism spans several years and institutions. It began when she served as Secretary of the Federation of Igbo Students at the University of Uyo. She went on to become President of the National Association of Imo State Students (NAISS) at the University of Uyo from 2019 to 2021, and later rose to the position of Senate President of NAISS National from 2021 to 2023. She also served as Niger Delta Students Union Government Coordinator for Imo State from 2023 to 2024 before assuming her present role as General Secretary of NANS South East Zone F for the 2024-2025 tenure.
In her vision statement, Jacinta said she aims to change the current direction of the NANS Senate. “I am not stepping forward to maintain the status quo. I am here to disrupt it, rebuild it, and deliver results that Nigerian students have been denied for far too long,” she stated.
She pledged to transform the Senate from what she described as a ceremonial body into “a battleground for justice, accountability, and aggressive advocacy.” Under her leadership, she said the Senate would be bold in defending students’ rights, relentless in holding leaders accountable, strategic in influencing national education policies, and united, disciplined and impossible to ignore.
She has pointed to several achievements from her previous roles as evidence of her capacity to deliver. These include attracting school fees for 73 students, among them 50 Imo indigenes and 23 from other South East universities. She also organised training in soap making for 10 students with disabilities and equipped them with startup materials to make them self-reliant. Through her “Catch Them Young and Attitudinal Change Initiative,” she visited more than 10 secondary schools and seven primary schools, distributing over 6,000 exercise books and pens, 20 pairs of school sandals, dictionaries and textbooks. She has hosted major seminars and symposia, including the “Beyond Fear” programme at Federal Polytechnic Nekede, and organised the “IMSU Praise” event which attracted over 1,500 students with foodstuffs shared among participants. In addition, she led a two-day campus sanitation exercise tagged “My Home My Sanity” at IMSU, a programme that was later adopted by the university’s Alumni Association.
As students, leaders and stakeholders look forward to the upcoming NANS election, Comrade Alfred Jacinta Chinedu has made her intentions known to contest for the office of the NANS National Senate President
