Ogun Students Protest Exclusion From Noodles’ Palliatives

Students in Ogun State on Friday complained against the exclusion by manufacturers of Indomie 2-minutes noodle meal over the company’s failure to consider its population in the recently concluded charitable meals distribution outreach for the elderly citizens in the state.

The Ogun Students, under the aegis of the National Association of Nigerian Students (NANS), Joint Campus Committee (JCC) of Ogun axis, among others, have also given wholesalers and retailers of products being manufactured by the company, a 72 – hours ultimatum within which to exhaust sales or dispose them off failure of which they threatened destroyed them.

The students, in a statement in Abeokuta on Friday, accused the management of De United Foods Industries Limited; maker of the Indomie Noodles of deliberately excluding the students’ populace from the targeted beneficiaries of the company’s consumer outreach endeavours, even when they are obviously and popularly referred to as “the Indomie generation”.

Copy of the statement obtained by LEADERSHIP, was signed by Adeyanju Francis Oluwafemi for NANS/JCC, Ogun Axis; Thomas Mathew kehinde, NAOSS Global President; Kehinde Damilola Simeon, Chairman, Ogun Students Stakeholders Forum; Opeyemi Bestman George, President PSM Nig, and Abdulwasiu Lawal, who is the chairman, NAUS OGUN CMC.

While acknowledging Indomie Noodle manufacturer’s dedication to the statutory Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR), the students’ body in the statement however, berated the manufacturer for failing to extend similar initiatives to the students whom they said constituted a proportional significance of about 70 percent of the company’s consumers from primary, secondary schools up to the higher institution.

“Despite this substantial representation, there has been an apparent deficiency in gestures of appreciation or support towards students in Ogun State.

“Ogun students perceive Dufil Prima Food’s occasional campus visits predominantly as sales-driven endeavours rather than genuine attempts to engage with students. Given the pivotal role students play in the noodle market, it is imperative to ensure equitable consumer engagement.

“In response to these concerns, the student body in Ogun State hereby, declare that Dufil Prima Food products should be removed from stores situated within a 100-meter radius of educational institutions in Ogun State,” the students said.

The statement ‘strongly’ urged all vendors retailing Dufil noodles within the student community to adhere to the directive within 72 hours, threatening that, “Non-compliance will results to picketing”.