ASUU to FG: We’re ready to go with hunger, starvation
The Academic Staff Union of Universities, ASUU, has accused the federal government of deploying hunger and starvation tactics to cripple ASUU members who are holding onto the strike action.
The union also accused President Muhammadu Buhari of being insensitive to the plights of the Nigerian education sector and insisted that the president’s posture is seemingly regrettable.
The Kano Zonal Coordinator of the union, Professor Mahmud M. Lawan made this known yesterday while addressing newsmen on the lingering strike in the country.
According to him, “the Kano Zone of ASUU is compelled to, unfortunately, call a spade a spade on the current prolonged impasse between the Federal Government and the union.
“It is noteworthy for the patriotic people of Nigeria to know that the union has noticed that the office of the Minister of Labour and Employment which is supposed to serve in conciliatory capacity has instead, become a government propaganda machine throughout the engagement and has woefully failed in its mandate to mediate dispassionately.
“Worse in performance in this matter is the office of Minister of Education who has failed to mediate adequately between the union and the office of the President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria.
“The most unfortunate distraction is the use of the Office of the Accountant General of the Federation, OAGF to frustrate all the previous ASUU-FGN agreements reached so far.”
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Professor Lawan also expressed ASUU’s 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 TEETFUND 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.”
The Zonal Coordinator warned that ASUU would not be subdued into submitting to the government.
He called on the Federal Government to instead pay its members through a software locally developed, University Transparency Accountability Solution (UTAs) and also revitalize the universities to bring to an end the lingering strike.
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