President Buhari Indicts ASUU of Being Corrupt

The president FRN

 

The Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) has been charged with corruption by President Muhammadu Buhari. Since February 14, the union has been on strike over demands concerning lecturers' allowances and salaries.

The president has repeatedly pleaded with the union to end the strike, but the lecturers have refused.

Also, Read Strike: Nigerian Govt Breaks ASUU, Register New Union Conua

Buhari stated that ASUU is no less complicit in tertiary education corruption while opening the Fourth National Summit on Reducing Corruption, which was organized by the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC), the Office of the Secretary to the Government of the Federation (OSGF), and the Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB).

According to him, corruption in the education sector continues to harm investments, while detractors minimize financing by focusing just on budgetary allocations and call for a more comprehensive reevaluation of expenditures.

The president stated, "This year's conference will illustrate how corruption undermines educational programs and investments and creates a hostile learning environment for our young people.

Persistent strikes, particularly by unions in tertiary education, frequently imply that the government is grossly underfunding education. However, I must say that corruption in the education system, from the elementary level to the tertiary level, has been undermining our investment in the sector, and those who go on prolonged strikes for flimsy reasons are no less complicit.

"The Constitution of 1999 places an emphasis on education by placing it on the Concurrent List, so bringing the budgeting and financing of quality education under the jurisdiction of both the Federal and State governments.

Therefore, the annual total education budget is a reflection of both the federal and state budgets and should be treated as other financial commitments.

"The federal budget allocation for education should not be limited to the Federal Ministry of Education and academic institutions, but should also include an allocation for Universal Basic Education, transfers to TETFUND, and reimbursement from the Education Tax Pool Account to TETFUND.

Strangely, tertiary education stakeholders, including unions, have not paid attention to the issue of corruption in the expenditure of institutions' internally generated cash.

"I urge stakeholders to demand accountability in the management of academic institutions and unions to investigate the bloated personnel and recurring expenses of their institutions. Permit me to further ask the Unions to collaborate with the government to place faces and identities with payroll names.

"Due to diminishing resources, the government cannot afford to fund education on its own. I request that our academics attract endowments, research, and other funds comparable to those in other nations for universities, polytechnics, and colleges of education.

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