ASUU: FG can fund education without borrowing

The Academic Staff Union of Universities has stated that the Federal Government has the funds to meet its demand, but it remains committed to improving the country's education sector.

Prof. Emmanuel Osodeke, President of ASUU, stated that the union did not instruct the Federal Government to borrow to fund its demand.

He stated that the country's tertiary institutions had suffered enough setbacks, and that the authorities should be aware of their responsibilities.

"Who is asking them to borrow?" he asked. They (the Federal Government) have the resources. Did they borrow N400 billion to release for trader money? Is the money of traders more important than the closure of universities?

"If they dedicate N200 billion to school feeding, which we don't see; if they consider plea bargaining with someone who stole N80 billion, they should tell Nigerians that they are uninterested in education rather than making flimsy excuses.

"We are not asking the government to borrow; we are asking them to fund education."

Remember that Ebonyi State Governor David Umahi previously stated that the government cannot borrow N1.1 trillion to meet ASUU's demand.

"There is no way the country will go and borrow N1.1trn to meet ASUU's demand," Umahi said while receiving members of the Board of Trustees of the Nigeria Police Trust Fund in Abakaliki, the state capital. "It's completely unreasonable. Are their demands legitimate? Yes, but we can take it slowly at first," ASUU President stated.

In response, the ASUU president asked, "Is he the government's spokesman?" We are not going to respond to him."

In the same vein, Mr Haruna Danjuma, President of the National Association of Parents Teachers Association of Nigeria, stated that the Ebonyi State governor was speaking for himself.

"I believe that's Umahi's point of view, and he's not speaking for Mr. President or the Federal Government," he said. We also have an Education Minister. So I take it to be his point of view.

"Parents are not requesting that the Federal Government borrow such a large sum to equip our university, and I do not believe ASUU requested that the Federal Government borrow money to fund the universities." The government has the option of borrowing or not.