Strike: ASUU Demand Genuine But Government Can’t Borrow 1.1trn For The Union – Governor David Umahi

The Governor of Ebonyi State, David Umahi, said that there was no way the country can borrow N1.1 trillion, in order to meet the demand of the Academic Staff Union of Universities, ASUU.

ASUU, which has been on strike for over five months, is demanding among other things, the full implementation of the 2009 agreement it signed with the Federal Government.

Umahi stated this when he received the Board of Trutees of Nigeria Police Trust Fund at the new Government House, Abakaliki, led by Mr. Ben Akubueze, insisted that the basic problem in the country remains security, health and education.

According to Umahi, a university education is not for everybody. He stressed that the basic education every country strives to attain is secondary and vocational school education. He maintained that these are basic schools and that qualifications obtained from them can aid one to start up something or gain employment.

According to Umahi, “I cannot see how we cannot sit down with our ASUU leaders and iron out this problem about the ASUU strike.”

He advised the Federal Government to begin by releasing fraction by fraction of the funds demanded by ASUU as a way of finding lasting solutions to the present educational challenge facing the country.

His words: “There is a need to review our educational system; it mustn’t be for everybody. I am not ashamed that I have a first degree and my deputy is a PhD holder; it doesn’t matter. So, I cannot see how we cannot sit down with ASUU leaders and iron out the strike problem.

“I have read on the social media and newspapers how students got into trouble just by sitting at home or engaged in other means of keeping themselves busy instead of being in school.

“There is no way the country will borrow N1.1 trillion to meet ASUU’s demand; it’s unreasonable. Are the demands genuine? Yes, but we can start little by little.

“There must be a commitment from both parties. ASUU members are not making demands to take to their houses so to say; they are asking for better infrastructure, as well as better lecturers and students. Yes, but we can start with a fraction of that and then have a programme that will run on the platform of sincerity to address all demands.

“Let me also say that most of the time, our people have a low appetite for maintenance of public works.”

No matter how much you deploy to these universities, unless the users, the industry, the regulators begin to treat public infrastructure as their own, it will continue to go bad no matter how much Federal Government deploys to it.”