The Academic Staff Union of Universities has condemned alleged financial recklessness of President Bola Tinubu-led government and its misplaced economic policies that hampering adequate funding of public Universities — amid fuel subsidy removal.
Professor Emmanuel Osodeke, ASUU President disclosed this at the National Executive Council (NEC) meeting at Umuahia in Abia State, South East where the Union renewed re-echoed its three weeks notice of strike to the federal government to either address all issues of concern or brace up for strike.
He rejected attempts to divert Tertiary Education Trust Fund (TETFUND) intervention grant into the students loan scheme by the federal government and called on President Bola Tinubu-led government to set its priorities right.
The ASUU President said, “you (federal government) want to give N50 billion to all students in all Nigeria public Universities and you call it loan. And you gave N90 billion to a small group going to Hajj in Mecca as subsidy. These are people travel to do individual prayers”.
“But, the students who are going to train and develop our Country, you (federal government) said students should take the grant as loan. Does this make sense in anywhere in the world?”, he said.
Professor Osodeke wondered why the federal government, which spent N21 billion to build the Vice President residence in addition to N150 billion to purchase Presidential jet, deliberately violated the agreement it voluntarily entered with federal government when ASUU in 2009.
According to him, “Since they came to power, we have not been able to reach out to them let alone negotiate. And this is about one-and-half years of this regime. The regime has over two years left. But they have done nothing even when we have been patient”.
TheNewspad reports that members of the Union across its Organs reviewed all its engagements with the federal and State governments issues hindering the development of the Nigerian Universities.
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