ASUU Bemoans Non-release of Needs Assessment Intervention Fund Since 2014

Uchechukwu Nnaike

The Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) has decried the federal government’s non-implementation of the ASUU/FGN Memorandum of Understanding of November 2013 which stated that Nigerian universities required 1.3 trillion for their revitalisation to compete favourably with their counterparts around the world.

Briefing journalist at the University of Lagos yesterday, the Lagos Zone of the union said the amount was based on the outcome of the federal government-conducted Needs Assessment of Public Universities in July 2012.

The union stated that in the December 11, 2013 MoU, government agreed to release the intervention funds in six installments over a period of six years starting with N200 billion in 2013 and subsequent payment of N220 billion each in the remaining five years spanning 2014-2018, but regretted that government is in arrears of N605 billion as at the third quarter of 2016.

According to the Coordinator of the ASUU Lagos Zone, Prof. Olusiji Sowande, “the implication is that government is not committed to the full implementation of this component of our agreement. The funding crisis is seriously impacting negatively on the state of infrastructure and research facilities in our universities.
“This lack of commitm

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