Source: Punch

The Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) has raised concerns over alleged attempts to undermine Nigeria’s public universities, blaming the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the World Bank for orchestrating efforts to weaken the country’s education system.

Speaking during the 2024 ASUU Heroes Day celebration in Abuja, ASUU National President, Prof. Emmanuel Osodeke, criticized the delay in renegotiating the ASUU-Federal Government 2009 Agreement. Despite multiple Memoranda of Understanding (MoUs) and Memoranda of Action (MoAs), he lamented that the agreement remains unresolved after 12 years.

Osodeke also condemned the Federal Government’s continued enforcement of the Integrated Personnel and Payroll Information System (IPPIS) in public universities, despite prior commitments by the Federal Executive Council to exclude tertiary institutions from the system. He highlighted other unresolved grievances, including the non-payment of ASUU members’ three and a half months’ salaries, withheld wages, promotions, and Earned Academic Allowances.

“Comrades, like in the past, this year’s celebration of our heroes takes place as we continue the struggle to rescue Nigeria’s public universities from the suffocating clutches of the World Bank and IMF, whose determination to destroy and bury our public university system has not abated,” Osodeke stated.

He expressed solidarity with union members facing persecution in state universities, including Kogi State University, Lagos State University, Ebonyi State University, and Chukwuemeka Odumegwu Ojukwu University.

To support its members, ASUU announced the introduction of PhD grants worth ₦500,000 each for selected academics across public universities. The grants will be awarded based on rigorous proposal assessments by experts in respective fields.

The event also honored past and present ASUU heroes, including Prof. T. Uzodinma Nwala, Prof. Bright Ekuerhare, Prof. Oye Oyediran, and Mallam Bashir Kurfi, among others, for their contributions to the union’s cause.

Prof. Osodeke praised ASUU members for their resilience and sacrifices, reaffirming the union’s commitment to fighting for the advancement of public university education and the welfare of Nigeria’s academic community.