To End Ongoing Strike, Give Us N200billion From N4trillion Fuel Subsidy — University Lecturers, ASUU

Prof Emmanuel Osodeke, President of the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU), has asked the Nigerian government to subtract N200 billion from the N4 trillion set aside for fuel subsidies.
 
 
In an interview on Channels TV on Tuesday morning, Osodeke said the government has tackled the issue of gasoline subsidy with a budget of N4 trillion while ignoring university education difficulties.
 
 
According to the ASUU President, even if the government pulled only N200 billion from the N4 trillion budget to address the problems of its members, it would still have N3.8 trillion.
 
 
He also urged the Nigerian government to put education ahead of petroleum subsidies, claiming that Nigerian academics could supply all of the remedies required to help the country recover.
 
He claimed that it took only three months for Nigerian universities to build the University Transparent and Accountability Solution (UTAS), which outperformed the foreign Integrated Payroll Personnel Information System (IPPIS) by 97.3 percent.
 
 
While large sums of money were spent on IPPIS, he claimed that the money would have been better spent on Nigerian institutions, and he encouraged the government to always target Nigerian universities with finding answers to identified problems.
 
 
“It’s always extremely comical,” Osodeke remarked, “that the government can’t generate N200 billion to annually refurbish all Nigerian universities to world standards.” For gasoline subsidies, the same government can raise N4 trillion. Which is more vital to any country that wishes to progress: fuel subsidies or Nigerian education?
 
 
“You can raise a budget to create N4 trillion in annual subsidies, but you can’t get N200 billion to support your education because you don’t have the infrastructure.” You can invest N228 billion to feed primary and secondary school students. However, you will not be able to raise this money for your university; it is a matter of importance. This is the issue.
 
 
“If you take N200 billion out of N4 trillion to support your universities, you’ll have N3.8 trillion left over for fuel subsidies.”