The senate has expressed disappointment over the federal
government’s failure to honour agreements reached with the Academic Staff Union
of Universities (ASUU), pledging to intervene to end the ongoing two-week
warning strike.
Mohammed Dandutse, senator representing Katsina south and
chairman of the senate committee on tertiary institutions and TETFund, spoke on
Friday while reeling out resolutions reached after a closed-door meeting with
the leadership of ASUU in Abuja.
Dandutse said the senate would convene a joint meeting
involving the ministry of education, the National Universities Commission
(NUC), and ASUU to ensure a quick resolution to the crisis.
“The senate is not happy that the agreement by the
government with ASUU has not been fulfilled,” the senator said.
“We will study the issues raised and take appropriate steps
to ensure an amicable resolution.
“We want the leadership of ASUU to write all the issues they
raised so that we can face the ministry of education together by Tuesday or
Wednesday.
“You cannot teach when your stomach is empty. We will engage
the executive and ensure these issues are addressed once and for all.”
Dandutse also said the panel would submit a detailed report
to the senate president and urge President Bola Tinubu to intervene personally.
“We will not let this matter rest. Education is the backbone
of national development, and the senate will not stand by while our
universities collapse,” he said.
He added that the senate would also engage Nyesom Wike, the
minister of the federal capital territory (FCT), to prevent the encroachment of
land belonging to the University of Abuja.
‘ASUU’S DEMANDS ARE NOT UNREASONABLE’
Olubiyi Fadeyi, senator representing Osun central, decried
the state of Nigerian universities and backed ASUU’s concerns.
“We are all products of Nigerian universities, and what we
see today is heartbreaking,” he said.
“ASUU’s demands are not unreasonable. What’s unacceptable is
the government’s habit of signing agreements and abandoning them.”
Chris Piwuna, ASUU president, accused the federal government
of abandoning its responsibilities and underfunding the education sector.
Piwuna said Nigerian lecturers have become the poorest in
Africa despite their sacrifices and contributions to national development.
“A professor in South Africa earns N6 million monthly, in
Ghana N1.5 million, but in Nigeria, a full professor earns less than N500,000,”
he said.
“Our salaries can’t attract serious scholars from anywhere.
Even colleagues in Uganda and Zimbabwe earn far more. This is a national
disgrace.”
He warned that the poor remuneration and deteriorating
working conditions were forcing the country’s brightest minds to seek
opportunities abroad.
“The government only remembers us when we strike. We’ve been
patient, but patience has its limits. That’s not how nations grow,” Piwuna
said.
He added that the union is demanding the immediate payment
of three-and-a-half months of withheld salaries, unremitted pension deductions,
and the release of N50 billion revitalisation funds allegedly withheld by the
ministry of education.
“The senate appropriated that money for universities, not
for colleges or polytechnics,” he said.
“The ministry is playing politics with education. We want
the senate to compel them to release it immediately.”
He noted that the union is ready to end the strike
immediately if the government demonstrates a genuine commitment to resolving
the crisis.
“We don’t want students at home or parents losing sleep.
Give us reason to believe, and we’ll end this strike immediately,” he said.
However, the lecturers insisted that without real
reforms—not political promises—peace in Nigerian universities would remain
elusive.
The academic union president also raised concerns over an
alleged attempt by the FCT minister to seize parts of the University of Abuja’s
land meant for academic and agricultural development.
“That land is crucial for research, expansion, and
innovation,” the union said. “If the minister succeeds, he would be choking the
future of education in the capital,” Piwuna said.
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