The Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) has claimed that the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund (IMF) are intent on destroying and burying Nigeria’s public tertiary education system.
Despite what it described as the adverse agendas of these organisations, ASUU pledged to continue its fight to protect the nation’s public universities from these “restrictive forces.”
ASUU President, Prof. Emmanuel Osodeke, made this assertion at the ASUU national secretariat on the University of Abuja campus during the union’s annual Heroes Day ceremony, which celebrates members’ contributions to advancing public education, particularly at the tertiary level.
Prof. Osodeke highlighted ongoing issues between the union and the federal government, including the unjust withholding of three and a half months’ salary, along with delayed payments for promotions and Earned Academic Allowances.
He also criticised the government’s enforcement of the IPPIS payment system in universities, even though the Federal Executive Council had announced plans to eliminate it from tertiary institutions.
He expressed frustration over the government’s failure to implement agreements, noting that multiple Memoranda of Understanding (MoUs) and Memoranda of Action (MoAs) remain unfulfilled.
“Once again, we are gathered to honour our heroes while simultaneously fighting to rescue Nigeria’s public universities from the grip of the World Bank and IMF, whose efforts to dismantle our public education system continue unabated,” Osodeke said.
He also lamented the government’s failure to renegotiate the 2009 ASUU-Federal Government Agreement, which remains unresolved even after numerous negotiation attempts.
The union took the opportunity to announce PhD grants of N500,000 each for selected members who successfully passed a rigorous proposal evaluation process.
Osodeke commended ASUU members for their “determination to uphold Nigeria’s public university system,” adding that union members at state universities such as Kogi State University, Lagos State University, Ebonyi State University, and Chukwuemeka Odumegwu Ojukwu University are still facing punitive measures for advocating on behalf of their institutions and the interests of their members.
