The Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) has said that Nigerian university lecturers would not succumb to what it called Federal Government’s ‘hunger and starvation tactics’ aimed at weakening its members.
The body also accused President Muhammadu Buhari of being insensitive to the plights of the Nigerian education sector, insisting that the president’s posture is seemingly regrettable.
Kano Zonal Coordinator of ASUU, Prof. Mahmud Lawan, told reporters at BUK Secretariat of ASUU, that “worse in performance in this matter is the office of Minister of Education, Adamu Adamu, who has failed to mediate adequately between the union and the office of the president.”
The zonal ASUU said the most worrisome attitudes in the whole of the impasse are that of Ministers of Education, and that of Labour and Employment who failed to mediate adequately between them and the presidency.
“The worst is the Office of the Accountant General, which has been used to frustrate all previous ASUU-FG agreements reached so far.”
Prof. Lawan also expressed ASUU deep concern on President Buhari’s irresponsible posture on the issue of education, leaving Nigeria universities to thrive on the magnanimity of TetFUND.
He said it is no longer news that the nation’s universities today survive only on TetFUND interventions, which is a clear demonstration of government failures.
He added that Nigeria universities did not receive any intervention since 2014 when the Jonathan government released N200 Billion to them, while President Buhari promises failed woefully to yield any fruitful results.
According to him, “As you are aware that we in ASUU are with the constitutional obligation of protecting advancing the socio-economic and cultural interests of the nation have continued through the decades to struggle for the survival and revitalization of public universities.
“But today, the government is using all sorts of propaganda, including ensuring that we are starved of funds to show to Nigerians that our struggles are only on IPPIS, which is completely untrue.”
