ASUU SAYS TO FG - N92 BILLION IS A DEBT,
NOT A NEW DEMAND




The Academic Staff Union of Universities,
ASUU, on August 22, 2013, Thursday,
described as highly embarrassing, the
statement credited to the Coordinating
Minister of the economy and Minister of
Finance, Dr. Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala. The
statement said that the lecturers were
making a fresh demand from the Federal
Government.
Dr. Usman Abubakar, ASUU zonal
coordinator in Bauchi, told the newsmen
that ASUU was not making fresh demand,
but asking for the implementation of
existing agreement, while the Minister’s
position was opposite.
“Contrary to the Minister’s assertion that
“ASUU is demanding for N92 billion”, we
wish to inform the public that the said
amount is a debt, not a demand. It is a debt
the Federal Government is owing staff of
affected universities (both academic and
non-academic) over a period of four years.
The Federal Government has to pay, if it has
to show signs of a responsible and
honourable government.”
The ASUU coordinator also expressed shock
at the insincerity and antics of the
government, saying the Minister’s
pronouncement was a deliberate and
calculated attempt to blackmail ASUU,
confuse the public and reduce ASUU’s
patriotic cause to a mere payment of
allowances.
According to Dr. Abubakar, the Minister’s
comment is an indication that government
had no intention of honouring the
agreement, saying “how could the minister
have made the claim of no money to honour
the agreement when the finance ministry
was represented throughout the
negotiations in the 2009 ASUU/FGN
agreement and the MoU.
What could be more dishonourable and
deceitful by a government than this?”