ASUU strike: FG can’t borrow N1trn to meet lecturers’ demands, says Umahi

 

.Urged both parties to reach middle ground

 

By Clement Nnachi (abakaliki)

 

Governor David Umahi of Ebonyi State has declared that the industrial action embarked by the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) was genuine but that there was no way the Federal Government will borrow N1 Trillion naira to meet the demands of the Union .

 

In a similar development, Umahi has urged the Federal Government to make concessions in order to end the six months old industrial action embarked upon by ASUU.

 

Umahi made the assertion in abakaliki the State capital on Wednnesday when he received a delegation of the Board of Trustees of the Nigerian Police Trust Fund led by Dr Ben Akabueze.

 

The Governor insisted that the educational system in the country was not properly articulated.

 

According to him, “our basic problem in this country remains security, health and education”

 

“University education is not for everybody and that is the truth, the Basic Education every country strives to attain is Secondary School and Vocational Schools”

 

“these are the basic schools and when you have these qualifications, you will able to use it either to start up something or to be able to use it to be employed and while you are in employment, if you don’t have the mercy you will be able to aspire to university education”

 

There is need to review our educational system, it mustn’t be for everybody,

So, I cannot see how we cannot sit down with our ASUU leaders and iron out this problem about the ASUU strike.

 

“I have read on social media, newspapers how students got into trouble just by sitting at home or engaging in means of keeping themselves busy instead of being in schools”

 

“There is no way the country Nigeria will go and borrow 1.1trillion to meet ASUU demand, Are their demands genuine? Yes, but we can start little by little”

 

“There must be commitment on the side of both parties that look, this ASUU are not asking this to take to their houses, so to say, there are asking it for our children to better the infrastructure, to better the lecturers and the 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 the lots.

 

“But let me also say that most of the time, our people have 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 in the various universities, it will continue to go bad no matter how much the federal government deploy to it”

 

Umahi reiteraed that it was important for ASUU to show some understanding and for those who are negotiating on the side of government to also show some understanding”

 

” Lets meet ourselves halfway and their open the schools to save the fate of our children”

 

Earlier in a remark, the leader of the delagation Dr Ben Akabueze, said that their mission in the state was to appraise the mandate of the police personnel in the state.

 

“We are here to seek a cordial working relationship, support and  partnership with the state government

 

Dr Akabueze commended the State Government for its numerous assistance to the police.