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| Emmanuel Osodeke |
The Academic Staff Unions of Universities National President, Professor Emmanuel Osodeke alongside his deputy, Dr Chris Piwuna, during a program hosted by Ahmed Isah a human rights activist, accused the Federal Government of negligence towards the nation’s education sector.
Professor Emmanuel Osodeke, while speaking on the Radio and Television show on Saturday morning, 11th June, disassociated himself from the donated funds available to facilitate the suspension of strike. The professor used the medium to tell the public he won't be accepting the funds based on some reasons he disclosed.
Osodeke further debunked a viral memo allegeding that the union has suspended strike. He said the memo is totally fake and fabricated to blackmail the union.
The ASUU boss further accused politicians for neglecting the welfare of lectures and the infrastructures of public universities, adding that without the struggle of the union, public universities would've been in bad condition compared to primary and secondary education in Nigeria.
He said that those who are responsible for taking care of the nation's tertiary institutions have children schooling overseas, reasons why they give little or no attention to funding public institutions of learning.
He also revealed that many lecturers, including himself, haven't been paid for some months now.
On UTAS, Osodeke made it known that the government's IPPIS payment platform is “fraudulent”. He said despite UTAS scoring about 99.3%, the government has deliberately frustrated the adoption of the payment platform.
He also decried the working conditions of lecturers. He disclosed that there is no Nigeria university with foreign lecturers, which he said it's bad for the system. He disclosed that lecturers are leaving for other countries such as Ghana because they pay well.
While responding to questions on the current state of negotiation with the government, Osodeke said the negotiation has been progressive, adding that UTAS is currently being tested again by the NITDA.
BY ISRAEL UCHENNA
