The Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) has submitted the argument that the Federal Government has the funds to meet its demands, however, it is adamant about enhancing the nation’s educational system.
The president of ASUU, Prof. Emmanuel Osodeke, pointed out that the club did not ask the federal government to take on debt in order to meet its demand.
He claimed that the nation’s tertiary institutions had already experienced enough failures, thus the government needed to assume its responsibilities.
He noted, ‘Who is asking them to borrow? They (Federal Government) have the money. If they can release N400bn for trader money, did they borrow that? Is trader money more important than universities being closed?’
‘If they dedicate N200bn for feeding of children in school, which we don’t see; if they can be thinking of plea bargain with somebody who stole N80bn, they should let Nigerians know that they are not interested in education rather than giving flimsy excuses.’
‘We are not asking the government to borrow; we say they should fund education.’
According to previous reports, David Umahi, the governor of Ebonyi State, initially stated that the government can’t borrow N1.1 trillion to meet ASUU’s demand.
Umahi while acquiring members of the Board of Trustees of the Nigeria Police Trust Fund in Abakaliki, the state capital, said, ‘There is no way the country will go and borrow N1.1trn to meet ASUU’s demand. It’s quite unreasonable. Are their demands genuine? Yes, but we can start little by little.’
In response, the ASUU President said, ‘Is he the spokesman for the government? We will not respond to him.’
The president of the National Association of Parents Teachers Association of Nigeria, Mr. Haruna Danjuma, said in the same vein, that the governor of Ebonyi State was expressing his personal opinion.