The National Association of Polytechnic Students (NAPS) has announced plans to mobilise one million students across campuses nationwide for a solidarity march in honour of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu on June 12, Democracy Day.

Tagged the ‘Adupe March’, the procession is aimed at expressing gratitude to the President for what the students describe as unprecedented investments in education under the Renewed Hope Agenda.

Addressing journalists on Monday, NAPS National President, Comrade Eshiofune Oghayan, said the march would be peaceful and celebratory, not a protest.

He said the demonstration will also serve as a platform to demand urgent educational reforms, particularly an end to the lingering dichotomy between Higher National Diploma (HND) and Bachelor’s Degree holders.

According to Oghayan, since the inception of democracy, President Tinubu is the one who has invested most in education, saying that the N2.52 trillion allocated to education in the 2025 budget was the highest in Nigeria’s history.

The student leader mentioned key education sector reforms introduced by the Tinubu administration, including the N683.4 billion tertiary education intervention fund for 2024, the rollout of the Nigeria Education Loan Fund (NELFUND), and a N120 billion commitment to technical and vocational education.

He noted initiatives such as monthly grants for technical students, the 3 Million Technical Talent (3MTT) programme, and the $617.7 million iDICE innovation fund as evidence of the administration’s commitment to practical education and youth empowerment.

He said, “In the long arc of our national journey, many leaders have come and gone. Promises have filled the air like echoes with no return address. But today, we are witnesses to a turning tide.

“Under the Renewed Hope Agenda, President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has chosen to invest not only in the physical structure of governance but in the intellectual infrastructure of the future, the Nigerian student.

“And so, we say it boldly and gratefully since the inception of democracy, you are the President that has invested more in education. Adupe (meaning thank you) is not a political slogan. It is an act of gratitude. It is the kind of we thank you that echoes across generations and buries itself in the soil of posterity.

“In clear contrast to past administrations, which often approached education as a footnote in national development, the Tinubu presidency has demonstrated that education is the foundation, not the filler.

“We hereby proclaim June 12, 2025, as a day of historic appreciation. Nigerian students across all campuses, polytechnics, colleges, and technical institutions will embark on a one-million-student March, not for protest, but for praise. This is our own democracy day. A day to show that a nation that invests in its students sows the seeds of greatness.”

Oghayan further demanded legislative backing to allow polytechnics to award Bachelor of Technology (B.Tech) and Bachelor of Science in Technology (BSc.Tech) degrees.

The union urged the National Assembly to expedite action on the relevant bill, which has already passed second reading.

The students also demanded the transformation of the National Board for Technical Education (NBTE) into a full-fledged National Commission for Technical Education (NCTE), to give it greater autonomy and enhance regulatory oversight.

They announced plans to launch a national student insurance scheme, a mental health awareness campaign, and a campus security committee to address rising safety concerns in tertiary institutions.