The Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) yesterday joined issues with the Federal Government over claims by Education Minister Malam Adamu Adamu that N25 billion had been approved as earned allowances for public universities.
It claimed that the government has not implemented key agreements in the Memorandum of Action (MoA) it signed in February with ASUU leaders.
The union warned that its members should not be held responsible should there be any disruption in the university system.
ASUU President Biodun Ogunyemi at a news conference where he reacted to the reported credited to the Education minister.
Prof Ogunyemi said the N25 billion was meant to be a part-payment of the Earned Academic Allowances that should have been released between February 15 and 28 as agreed with the union to its members.
He said: “Since information on the amounts mentioned in the media went round, the ASUU has been inundated with enquiries on the union’s perspective to the story.
“Funding for the revitalisation of public universities has for years been of very high priority to ASUU. We therefore call on all Nigerian patriots, parents and students including the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) to prevail on the government to keep to the terms of our agreement. Otherwise, our union should not be held responsible for any disruption in the system.”
According to him, reaching agreement with the government had often been a frustrating journey for the union, adding that ASUU members have had to protest and go on strike to press home their demands.
He said that the current leadership of the government team leading the re-negotiation of the 2009 agreement lacked the academic disposition and humility needed to undertake a conscious and focused engagement.
The Pro-Chancellor of the University of Lagos (UNILAG), Dr. Wale Babalakin (SAN), is leading the government team on the re-negotiation of the 2009 Agreement.
Ogunyemi warned that the current approach of Babalakin in the ongoing negotiation could put the future of universities was in jeopardy.
He said: “Reaching an agreement with the Federal Government has often been a frustrating journey for our union. It is often marked with protests, strikes and requires a conscious and focused engagement.
“The 2001 agreement, which gave birth to the 2009 agreement, was not an exemption. The exception here is the personality leading the government negotiation team.
“The current leadership of the government team clearly lacks the academic disposition and humility needed to undertake such task. We have written the Minister of Education recently that with Dr Wale Babalakin, we may go nowhere. And with the current approach of Dr Babalakin in the ongoing negotiation, the future of Nigerian universities is in jeopardy.
“We call on Nigerians to prevail on Dr Babalakin to embrace a change of attitude in the interest of Nigerian children whose parents cannot afford the cost of a highly priced privatised university system.
“Our members enjoy their work and hate to see any disruption in the smooth running of our universities. However, the level of frustration occasioned by the lackadaisical attitude of the government towards meeting the terms of the 2019 Memorandum of Action that was freely signed with our union is increasingly becoming unbearable.”
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