The end of the ongoing strike embarked upon by the Academic Staff Union of Universities, ASUU, may not be in sight as indication emerged yesterday that the Federal Government may not meet its demands.
The Minister of Finance and Coordinating Minister for the Economy, Dr. Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, gave the hint in her speech at the opening of a two-day National Council on Finance and Economic Development, NACOFED, in Minna, Niger State.
She said the Federal Government had no resources to carter for the lecturers’ demands of N92 billion in additional allowances with the current dearth of funds.
Okonjo-Iweala warned that
if the demands of the lecturers were met in salaries and allowances, the nation would not be able to provide infrastructure in the universities.
The minister argued that the nation was still suffering from the effect of the 2010 increase in salary and if steps were not taken to handle issues of demands from various groups, all the resources realised by the government would be used in settling salaries and allowances.
“Now, ASUU wants government to pay N92 billion in additional allowances when we don’t have the resources to cater even now that we are working to integrate past increases in pensions.
“That is why we need to make choices in this country as we are getting to the stage where recurrent expenditures take the bulk of our resources and people get paid but can do no work,” she said.
The minister insisted that when she assumed office, the share of recurrent expenditure in the total budgets accounted for about 77.2 per cent of the federal budget as against what she left in 2006, adding that efforts were now being made to rebalance the ratio.
She also lamented the rise in both external and internal debts, saying in August 2006 when she left office as minister, Nigeria had $17.3billion, comprising $3.5billion in foreign debt and $13.8billion in domestic debt.
“By 2011 when I returned to office, the total debt now stood at $447.9bn and the domestic debt had now grown to about $42.3bn,” the minister said, adding that measures had been taken by the Federal Government to address the situation.
Niger State Governor Babangida Aliyu lamented that efforts to deregulate the oil sector have been mired in series of subsidy scandals, rather than yielding the desired benefits to social security and economic growth.
Aliyu, who was represented by his deputy, Ahmed Ibeto, decried Nigeria’s huge oil reserve without a single refinery working in full capacity.
In Lagos, motorists and pedestrians along the busy Ikorodu road yesterday experienced hardship as scores of angry youths, students, activists and workers in the nation’s education sector flooded the streets to protest what they termed the neglect of the sector by government at all levels.
The protest, coordinated by the leadership of the Joint Action Front, JAF, a coalition of non-governmental organisations and pro-democracy groups, had representatives from the various students’ and workers’ unions, including members of ASUU.
Others include the Senior Staff Association of Nigerian Universities, SSANU, the National Association of Academic Technologists, NAAT, the Academic Staff Union of Polytechnics, ASUP, the Senior Staff Association of Nigeria Polytechnics, SSANIP, the Colleges of Education Academic Staff Union, COEASU, the Education Rights Campaign and the Committee for the Defence of Human Rights, CDHR.
The protest march took off at the Nigeria Labour Congress, NLC, House in Yaba and terminated at Maryland roundabout, where the JAF’s Secretary, Abiodun Aremu, addressed the participants. He condemned the “nonchalant attitude of the Federal Government to the 42-day-old strike embarked on by ASUU”, noting that the unions had unanimously agreed to shut down the education sector until government did what was right.
Aremu explained that the protest marked the beginning of a national sensitisation exercise to enlighten the public on the consequences of the current neglect the country education sector suffers.
The Public Relations Officer of JAF, Isiaq Olaitan Buno, said the protest, tagged, “Save public education” would continue in major cities across the country, including Ibadan, Kano, Calabar, Owerri, and Abuja.
ASUU National Treasurer, Dr. Ademola Aremu, condemned the current 8.43 per cent of the nation’s total budget being allocated for the funding of education, saying government must kick-start the implementation process of the agreement it reached with the union in 2009.
ASUP National President, Chibuzor Asomugha, urged the government and other stakeholders to rise up to the agitation for a sound educational sector as championed by ASUU and other unions.
NANS South-West Zone D Secretary, Monsurudeen Adeyemo, and COESU Chairman, Adetimilehin Michael, reiterated their unions’ support for the ASUU struggle, noting that “it is a just campaign to free the education from the stronghold of the rich who destroy public properties and monuments for their own to thrive at all cost”.
ASUU Chairman, University of Ibadan branch, Dr. Segun Ajiboye, who addressed the protesters in Yoruba, urged governments to stop paying lip service to the funding of education, stressing that “what is tagged as a right cannot be denied”.
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