The Academic Staff Union of Universities, ASUU, Owerri Zone has accused the present Federal Government and the State Governors of persistently undermining the existence of the public universities in Nigeria through their systemic neglect, acute under-funding, and bastardization of university autonomy, leading to the inability of Nigerian universities to compete globally.
The ASUU Owerri zone accused on Monday, during a press conference held at the ASUU Secretariat, Nnamdi Azikiwe University, Awka, with the theme ‘the unresolved issues among Federal and State Governments and ASUU, and the need for urgent action to avert a crisis.’
Addressing the press conference, the ASUU Owerri Zone Chairman, Prof Dennis Aribodor said despite the ASUU’s relentless struggles over the years to get previous and present governments to prevent universities from the current gradual slide into total collapse, the Nigeria University system is currently facing the most crucial existential threats occasioned by governments’ total neglect and abandonment.
Aribodor accused the governments of concertedly planning to annihilate public universities in favor of the commercialization of university education via private universities owned by politically exposed individuals.
“It appears education is not a priority for Tinubu’s administration nor is it for any of the State Governments.
“ASUU has made several efforts to get the governments to come to a negotiation table to discuss all these issues mitigating the smooth functioning of public universities but all to no avail.
“In most state Universities, there are no structures built by the State Governments, rather there are those built through the struggles of ASUU either through TETFund or other programmes.
“To date, the issues of the 2009 Renegotiated Agreement between Federal Government and ASUU, withheld salaries of staff of federal and state universities, Earned Academic Allowances, EAA, the Integrated Personnel and Payroll Information System (IPPIS), among others, remain unresolved.
“It is surprising that one year after it assumed office, the Tinubu administration has not addressed this particular issue of Renegotiation agreement the ASUU had with it.
“Recall that the non-signing of Prof Nimi Brigg’s Committee Report of 2022 has left the university lecturers to remain in the same salary structure for the past 15 years. This scenario has pauperized Nigerian university workers with meagre take-home pay that cannot actually take them home.
“The current pay of a Professor at the bar is about $500 per month which is a mockery when compared with countries in West Africa not to talk of the entire African continent and the world.
“Universities are international centres and Nigerian public universities should be seen to be so. The mass exodus (Japa syndrome) of academics from the Nigerian public universities for greener pasture portends a great danger not only to the universities but to the development of Nigeria, and should be urgently arrested,” he said.
Aribodor, while condemning the poor funding of public universities, called for adequate funding for the revitalization of the universities.
He said; “The federal government under Goodluck Jonathan set up a committee on Needs Assessment of all Nigerian public (federal and state) universities as a stepping stone towards the revitalization of government-owned universities.
“The Committee recommended an immediate and massive injection of a total of N1.3 trillion to arrest the infrastructural decay in the institutions.
“That government commenced the implementation of the recommendations by releasing the first tranche of N200 billion in 2013. Unfortunately, since then, only a paltry sum of N50 billion has been released to date by the government. This is unacceptable.”
The Owerri zone ASUU boss, expressed the body’s displeasure over the dissolution of the governing councils of federal universities for one whole year, while the Chukwuemeka Odumegwu Ojukwu University, COOU has been left to operate without a Council for over two years.
“These are unacceptable aberrations, which must be avoided because of illegalities associated with them. It took a NEC resolution to down tools to force the present government to reconstitute new councils in all the federal universities a few days ago.
“The illegal dissolution and delay in the reconstitution of governing councils of public universities are fragrant violations of the Laws establishing these universities and erosion of the University Autonomy as enshrined in the Universities Miscellaneous Act of 1993 and 2012.
“The implication is that all actions taken by the university administrations that fall within the jurisdiction of governing councils within the period are illegal and can be declared a nullity by the courts,” he said.
The zone further highlighted other issues including the continued harassment of ASUU members in State Universities, the introduction of Core Curriculum Minimum Academic Standards (CCMAS) in Nigerian Universities, the denial of promotions for academic staff, called on all stakeholders to play their parts in ensuring that federal and state governments play their expected roles to avert a looming danger.
“ASUU struggles are patriotic and are meant to ensure that our public Universities are adequately re-positioned to deliver on their mandates by ensuring effective teaching, research and community service; thus contributing to national development,” he said.
