The Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) is allegedly being banned by the Federal Government as a means of ending the protracted strike. The African Action Congress (AAC) has responded to this claim and called the plan ridiculous and unacceptable.
In addition, the party called out Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) presidential candidate Atiku Abubakar for considering transferring control of federal universities to state governments.
In a statement, the party cited media sources claiming that the Federal Government was mulling proscription of ASUU as a means of ending the union's protracted strike, which is currently in its seventh month.
In a statement issued by the party and signed by Onyinye-Gandhi Chukwunyere, the spokesperson for the AAC's presidential campaign, the party attacked the All Progressives Congress (APC)-led Federal Government for allegedly having a disdain for Nigerians' education and blasted the threat of proscription as not only draconian but also an illegal tactic to blackmail and intimidate ASUU.
According to this argument, the APC's tenure in office had been an awful nightmare for the Nigerian people and that the problem in the country's educational system was only a mirror of the APC's wider, multi-sectoral failings.
The AAC stressed: “Like its equally irresponsible predecessors in the PDP, the APC prefers to attack the messenger, rather than address the message.
“It has repeatedly demonstrated its unwillingness to curb profligacy, stop the serial looting of our treasury, and direct resources to properly fund education and reposition the sector as the primary driver of national development.”
According to the statement, “For us in the African Action Congress, and our presidential candidate, Omoyele Sowore, the reported threat is ill-conceived and short-sighted, and we urge the Nigerian people to prepare to resist it.
“It is the clearest indicator yet, that the APC is bereft of the creativity required to solve critical national problems. It is unfit to govern and must be rejected at the polls in 2023.
“We express our unflinching solidarity with ASUU as they fight to defend access to public education. We recognise them as indispensable allies, and we will work with them to implement our thorough plan of aggressive investment in education as a reliable springboard to a new, secure, and prosperous Nigeria.
“Similarly, we condemn the statement credited to the presidential candidate of the PDP, Mr. Atiku Abubakar, to the effect that he would ‘handover federal universities to states if elected president, as reported by The Cable, in its August 22, 2022 issue.
“We note that Mr. Atiku’s call exposes an intent to abandon the critical task of citizens’ education to state governments which are already struggling to fund their institutions and are as confused in that regard as the APC Federal Government.
“We understand why. As the owner of a very expensive private university, Mr. Atiku is not interested in the hard work of revamping education in Nigeria. It is bad for his business.”
The statement said the AAC and its candidate, Sowore, believed that investment in public education remained one of the primary responsibilities of any serious government and a smart strategy to fast-track national development.
“Therefore, the AAC government will spare no effort to ensure that every Nigerian man, woman, and child has access to world-class education within Nigerian classrooms, laboratories, and libraries.
“We will not shirk the responsibility of providing our people the tools to develop their minds and prepare themselves for the challenging task of building a new nation with the promise of true liberty, security, and prosperity for all.
“We urge Nigerians to reject these failed parties and politicians at the polls in 2023, and vote overwhelmingly for Omoyele Sowore and other AAC candidates so that we can immediately commence the task of national redemption.”