ASUU want Federal government to Implement Agreement between ASUU and FG.

 

Academic Staff Union of Universities,  ASUU Modibbo Adama University Branch Yola, has  Called on the  Federal government to Implement the Agreement between Federal government and ASUU.

Chairman ASUU,  Modibbo Adama University yola Branch,  Dr. El Maude Jibrin Gambo made the Call during press briefing held at the  University yola.

Dr.  El Maude Jibrin said the press briefing  has become necessary in order to enlighten people  on the rift between FGN and ASUU, stating that there is a lot of misunderstanding of what has been bothering ASUU over the years. 

Dr. Gambo Jibrin said Many people criticize ASUU without understanding the issues in contention.

He said there is a  need for the public to understand what the struggle of ASUU is all about and join hands with  to save the educational sector in Nigeria and place Nigeria on the path to development.

Dr Jibrin explained  the exclusive wisdom behind 2022 eight months  strike action was to make  federal Government implement the Memorandum of Action (MoA) of 7th February, 2019 which our Union and FGN agreed upon without any duress. 

He explained that as  a Union, they  were and still not demanding the government to do anything new but the implementation of what was  agreed upon in 2017, 2018, 2019, 2020 and 2022, which Include Funding for Revitalization of public Universities,Renegotiation of the 2009 Agreement,Earned Academic Allowances, proliferation of State Universities and governance issues of them, Development of UTAS among others.

 Dr Gambo stressed that Unfortunately, due to the insensitivity of the government to the plight of students and the lukewarm attitude of government to education in particular, nothing significantly has changed over these years and it is  now half-way into 2024.

Dr El Maude  said  the avoidance of doubts, in the years 2017, 2018, 2020, and 2022, the 2009 agreement was renegotiated with the government's representatives, Dr. Wale Babalakin, Prof. Munzali Jubril, and the late Prof. Nimi Briggs, heading the government’s teams in that order.

The Nimi Briggs Committee concluded the renegotiation with the Union, awaiting the government's approbation. Government has remained silent over the document up to this moment.

 He explained that  members have been on the same salary for more than 15 years, stressing that the last time  salaries were reviewed was in 2009 lamenting that Lecturers in Nigeria are the least paid in Africa not to talk of the global average. 

He  emphazed  that In 2023 the FGN budgeted N50 billion for the payment of part of the backlog of our members’ Earned Academic Allowances EAA and promised to mainstream the EAA into our salaries.

 

He also said the funding structure for the education sector in Nigeria is grossly abysmal,  budgetary allocation to education has been so disappointing and  to worsen the situation, only a small fraction of what is budgeted for is actually released to universities.

 The chairman noted that in the last budgetary exercise, the sum of 170 billion was earmarked as revitalization fund in the budget, unfortunately, the money has not reached the universities.

As he lamented the level of decay in the infrastructure in the public universities in Nigeria can better be imagined, 

Maude stated  that the rate at which governments, both federal and states, eatablish universities without genuine commitment to sustainable funding of same is worrisome.

 The state of public universities in the Nigeria leaves much to be desired, and it requires genuine commitment from the “political leaders” to treat the matter with the utmost good faith.

 

He explained that most public universities are grossly underfunded but the proprietors do not care at all.

The chairman lamented on the withheld salaries of his members and urged the federal government to release it immediately.