From Timothy Olanrewaju, Maiduguri
Senator representing Southern Borno, Mohammed Ndume, has asked the Federal Government to resolve the prolonged labour dispute with Academic Staff Union of University (ASUU) to prevent collapse of the university system.
In an interview with journalists in Maiduguri, Borno State, he decried the payment of half salary to varsity lecturers as unjust and inhuman.
He said public officers or political office holders negotiating with ASUU on behalf of the Federal Government should not have been allowed to continue the negotiation process since their children were not attending public universities in the country.
He said he decided to speak out on the matter to clear his conscience and for posterity sake. He asked the government to act in the interest of the public.
“The ASUU issue is far from being over. Federal Government should resolve it now before the collapse of the university system.
Those who are currently handling the negotiation can’t resolve the issue because their interests are not affected,” he said.
He also asked the government to issue an executive order forbidding public officials from sponsorship their children abroad or putting them in private universities.
He said N1 trillion of the N8 trillion budgeted as recurrent expenditure or overhead cost to public servants in the 2023 appropriation, could have settled the salaries of the aggrieved lecturers.
Ndume said there was no justification for government not to pay full salaries to the striking lecturers, recalling that public servants were paid their salaries while at home during COVID-19.
“After all, we in the National don’t work all the days, yet we are paid full salaries,” he said.
He urged the government to constitute a committee of eminent Nigerians to bring back ASUU on the table and resolve all lingering issues.