Intervene Now To Avoid Another Nationwide Crisis – ASUU Tells President Tinubu

The Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) has called on President Bola Tinubu to intervene directly in the face-off between the government and the university union to avoid another nationwide strike.

The call was made on Friday by the Lagos Zone of ASUU during a press conference addressed by its Zonal Coordinator, Professor Adelaja Odukoya, at the Olabisi Onabanjo University (OOU), Ago Iwoye, Ogun State.

ASUU accused the government of failing to uphold its end of the bargain regarding negotiations and agreements between the two parties.

Odukoya said President Tinubu needs to urgently rise to the occasion and perform the functions of his office by immediately interfacing directly with the leadership of ASUU in order to avoid the destruction of the nation’s educational sector by those in positions of authority.

The union added that the 36 state governors also need to take “urgent and positive steps” that will arrest the  “mindless and deliberate” destruction of the education sector in the country.

The ASUU chieftain listed some of the pending issues in the union’s agitations to include the refusal of the Federal Government to sign and implement the concluded renegotiated agreement, which ASUU-FGN entered into since year 2009; poor funding of the existing universities; proliferation and mushrooming of universities by state governments, as well as the non-payment of the withheld salaries and arrears of Earned Academic Allowances (EAA) among others.

He added issues surrounding the controversial Integrated Personnel and Payroll Information System (IPPIS) among items that need the President’s urgent intervention.

“Before another round of crisis, the issues in contentions do not require rocket science to resolve. All the issues in contention can be immediately resolved if President (Bola) Tinubu as the Commander- in-Chief would perform the functions of his office by immediately interface directly with the leadership of our union.

“The deliberate refusal of corrupt Government and Ministry officials to migrate the University Payroll System away from IPPIS is unfortunate, condemnable and a confirmation that Nigeria is a becoming lawless State. It confirms that certain beneficial elements within government and their collaborators are bent on continuing to defraud our members and the universities,” Odukoya said.

Student Loan Scheme

On the student loan scheme recently introduced by the federal government, ASUU described it as a means of creating “an army of disenchanted youth who start their life with a burden of debt, and suicidal tendencies”.

The union therefore called for the review and strengthening of the National Universities Commission’s (NUC) laws to arrest the negative trends.

“We pray Government would see reason and heed this call. ASUU would however wish to put the Nigerian public on notice that Government should be held responsible if our public universities was again goaded into another preventable crisis,” Odukoya added.