ASUU to Nigerian Government: You’re insincere, deceptive
NEWS DIGEST – The Academic Staff Union of Universities, ASUU, Kano Zone, has described the Nigerian government as insincere and deceptive for failing to honour the Memorandum of Action, MoA signed on December 23 last year.
Addressing journalists at the headquarters of the union on Friday, the chairman the zone, Professor Abdulkadir Muhammad said as part of the agreement, the government offered to inject N30 billion as a tranche of N220 billion fund for revitalization of Nigerian public universities.
He said it was 222 days now, and the government was yet release the money.
According to Mr Muhammad, the government had also promised to release N25 billion to universities by May this year as part of the payment of Earned Academic Allowance, EAA, lamenting that “as at today, the government is yet to release the funds”.
The chairman also expressed displeasure over the government’s failure to honor the agreement it signed in February, through the ministry of budget and planning to release N170 billion as the balance of N220 billion.
He, however, said “the government, in its usual manner of deceit, has yet to convene this meeting, let alone releasing the agreed balance”.
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He stated that “it is very clear that the government has failed to address the core issues in the MOA of 23rd December, 2020 and the issues related to the draft of renegotiated agreement of May, 2021.
“ASUU hopes that authorities, both at federal and state level, would give these matters the urgent attention they deserve to sustain and improve on the current industrial peace on our university campuses. Therefore, the government should, as a matter of urgency, address the issues for the sake of industrial harmony in our campuses,” he urged.
The chairman of the zone, comprising of seven universities in Kano, Kaduna and Jigawa states, called on the government to urgently address the proliferation of state universities in order to salvage educational system of the country.
According to the chairman, federal government claimed that the bill to amend Nigeria University Commission, NUC act with a view to empower it towards addressing the proliferation of state-owned universities is before the national assembly.
“We called on the national assembly to as a matter of urgency, consider and pass the bill due to bad governance and under funding of such universities.
“He also stated categorically that our state owned universities may soon collapse beyond redemption because visitors to such universities have turned the establishment as a project for appeasing electorate in their senatorial and state constituencies,” he added.
