FG Did Not Tell Us They Can’t Meet Our Financial Demands – ASUU

The Academic Staff Union of Universities, ASUU, has said that government has not at any point in time informed the union that they do not have the financial capacity to meet the union’s demand.

ASUU’s National President, Prof. Emmanuel Osodeke, said this in an interview with Punch while reacting to recent comments by the Minister of State for Labour and Employment, Mr Festus Keyamo; and Ebonyi State Governor, David Umahi, who claimed that it was unreasonable for the Federal Government to borrow over N1 trillion to meet ASUU’s demands.

Naija News reports that the union has been on strike since February 14, 2022, after submitting its demands, with the strike entering it’s 180th day today, Friday.

Speaking on the union demands, Osodeke said: “Do you believe the FG has no money? Is Umahi the FG? Has the Minister of Education said so? Has the Minister of Finance said so? If the person directed to resolve a matter has not said so when interlopers are saying things, who will you believe?

“When did Umahi become the spokesperson for the FG? They can borrow money for Trader Moni, they can borrow money to feed schoolchildren in schools, they can borrow to buy vehicles for Niger Republic, but they cannot borrow to fund education. We are tired too. If they want to close down all the universities formally, they should.”

When asked if ASUU was willing to bend it’s demands so the student would return to school, Osodeke stated that the major issue was the government agreeing to come to the negotiation table.

“It is not about ASUU bending its demands; our demands are with the government. They should come to us with what they want. We don’t have to beg them. We agreed on something and let them send it to us. We have reached a negotiation. Let them come and tell us what they can do,” he said.