ASUU has denied that it is planning down tools over the Fg’s failure to pay the N1.3 trillion intervention funds it promised. The union says it is unhappy with tertiary institutions’ funding.
Nigeria’s universities will remain open despite rumours that the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) is planning to down tools over the Federal Government’s failure to pay the N1.3 trillion intervention funds as agreed.
The rumours followed comments made by ASUU National Chairman, Dr. Nasir Fagge, at the University of Ibadan (UI) 63rd Interdisciplinary Discourse.
Faggae had accused the Federal Government of crippling the operation of public universities through under funding, leading to the “production of unemployable graduates, who are “lacking in basic social, emotional and literacy skills.”
But ASUU National Treasurer, Dr. Ademola Aremu, in a recent interview with PM News debunked the rumoured strike, though confirming that the FG owed the union an accumulated N1.3 trillion.
“The money they agreed to pay was N220bn over five instalments but that has accumulated to about N1.3trn and that was why the president was creating an awareness about the situation on ground and not raising any fears on whether the union is about to embark on strike or not,” Aremu said.
“Throughout 2014, nothing was released and as things are with the first quarter ending, nothing has been done again. This is the reason we are skeptical about the fact that we are being neglected by the Federal Government.”
Aremu said the workers are however “unhappy with the way this issue of tertiary institution funding has been handled in the country despite our endless agitations.”
Meanwhile the Senior Staff Association of Nigerian Universities (SSANU) on Monday issued a four-week ultimatum to the Federal Government which elapses Wednesday 28th of April, 2015, over the latter’s failure to fully implement the 2009FGN/University based Unions’ Agreements.
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