AWKA- THE
Academic Staff Union of Universities, ASUU, Monday, urged the Economic and
Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, to prevail on the executive secretary of the
National Universities Commission, NUC, to account for the N100 billion annual
stabilization fund provided by the Federal Government to the Commission for
improvement of facilities in the nation’s government –owned universities.
Chairman
of the Nsukka Zone of ASUU, Dr. Chidi Osuagwu, at a media briefing on the
on-going strike action embarked upon by university lecturers in the country at
the Nnamdi Azikiwe University, Awka, accused the NUC boss of being a cog in the
wheel of university education and development in Nigeria, adding that the
strike would not have become necessary if the annual stabilization fund was
properly managed.
He said:
“We have not seen anything done with the stabilization fund. If the NUC has
been spending the money as expected, there would not have been this strike in the
first place as the issues demanded by ASUU would have been taken care of.
“The EFCC
and other responsible agencies of government should investigate this matter in
the interest of the growth of education in the country. ASUU embarked on the
current strike as a result of the failure of the federal government to
implement the agreement it willingly entered into with ASUU in October, 2009.
“Between
2009 and 2011, ASUU had made serious efforts in getting the government to
implement the agreement by even embarking on warning strikes, but government on
its side paid deaf ears to these efforts.
“It is
important to inform the public that the current strike by ASUU is not meant to
make any fresh demands on government, but simply and squarely to ask government
to rise to the challenges of responsible governance by fulfilling the
provisions of an agreement which it freely signed four years ago.”
According
to him, ASUU feels embarrassed by the rumours making the rounds that the
on-going strike would be called off tomorrow, Thursday, insisting that the
strike would continue unless the 2009 ASUU-FGN agreement is fully implemented.
Osuagwu
argued that Nigeria has adequate resources to properly fund education in the
country, describing as regrettable a situation whereby the country spends 25
percent of its budget on members of the national assembly, but cannot meet the
26 percent requirement for the funding of education as prescribed by the United
Nations Educational and Scientific Organization, UNESCO.
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