The Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) has warned Nigerians that the shut-down of public universities in the country is imminent due to the failure of the Federal Government to address its demands.
ASUU in a statement issued on Sunday and signed by the Lagos Zonal Coordinator, Prof. Adelaja Odukoya, said the union should not be held accountable for any industrial discord occasioned by the government’s inability and deliberate refusal to take advantage of the fresh opportunity to stop another preventable cycle of crises in the country’s ivory towers.
Prof. Odukoya called on well-meaning, public-spirited Nigerians, labour unions, religious leaders, civil society organizations, political leaders and the public to prevail on the Tinubu-led government to take decisive actions and engage with the leadership of ASUU with a view to resolving all outstanding issues that could lead to the imminent shut-down of the university system.
His added: “The recent series of interactions with the government has proven beyond a shred of doubt that the previous pranks, such as refusing to provide agreement papers and minutes of meetings, are ways to confuse and complicate issues.
“We firmly declare that our union will not idly stand by while the government subverts its commitment to looking after the welfare of its members and safeguarding the integrity of the Nigerian university system.”
According to him, the Lagos Zone of ASUU reaffirms that the best way to resolve the lingering crisis is for governments at the federal and state levels to tow the path of commitment to the Collective Bargaining Principles established in the conventions of the International Labour Organization (ILO).
The zone extended an invitation to all well-meaning Nigerians, especially the National Peace Committee (NPC), to wade into the matter with a view to resolving the looming crisis within 14 days, in addition to the previous 21-day notice which took effect from Monday, September 23, 2024.
Odukoya warned that ASUU should not be held accountable for any industrial discord occasioned by the government’s inability and deliberate refusal to take advantage of the fresh opportunity to stop another preventable cycle of crises in the country’s ivory towers.
According Prof. Odukoya, the Presidency on Wednesday, September 25, 2024, disclosed that the Tertiary Education Trust Fund (TETFund) Act would be amended to provide 30 percent of its funds to the current administration’s grandiose pet project, known as “student loan.
“This is like the Pharaoh rising to pillage the nation’s heritage; it is that simple! It is also false that the government lacks funds to support existing institutions at a time when new tertiary institutions are being recklessly created almost on a daily basis,” he said.
The coordinator stressed that the government’s failure to implement the recommendations of visitation panels and amend the National Universities Commission (NUC) Act to prevent the proliferation of public universities are also no longer unacceptable to ASUU members.
Odukoya confirmed that on Thursday, September 19, 2024, the leadership of ASUU met to discuss the government’s response and inform Nigerians that the political leaders are still unyielding and appear stone-minded in their determination to leave the public university system in its chronic dysfunctional state.
He lamented that despite a presidential order arising from the decision of the Federal Executive Council (FEC) and a court verdict, the government’s unwillingness to address non-financial issues such as IPPIS epitomizes the lack of political will and is a classic illustration of how both government agents and the government give only lip service to the fundamental challenges plaguing Nigerian public universities.
“In 2020, in response to a government request for a different and more efficient payment platform, ASUU developed the University Transparency and Accountability Solution (UTAS). Despite being confirmed superior and at no cost in all aspects to IPPIS, the government has rejected this option for the widely acclaimed inefficient, corruption-ridden IPPIS platform,” Prof. Odukoya charged.
