The Federal Government has said it was still not aware of reasons that caused the ongoing strike by the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU).
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The Minister of State for Education, Emeka Nwajiuba, said this while speaking recently in Abuja.
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According to Vanguard, he said, “Why they (ASUU) have chosen to go on strike is something that neither you nor I can explain. The engagement with ASUU has been a long drawn one, based on the 2009 agreement that was signed before we came into government.
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It is our duty as government to give life to those agreement which ASUU rightly seeks to make sure that the universities that the federal government owns are properly funded.
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The federal government’s funding is very limited and because of the additional challenges of security, it had to repeatedly borrow money to finance projects. This same borrowing is not available to build social infrastructure, it’s only available to build infrastructure that government can get return from, like railways.
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To borrow and pay people is normally not what World Bank or other financial institutions borrow money for. However, the federal government has continued to address this by paying the salaries that are due.
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Government is the one who pays, therefore, it is impractical and incongruous that somebody who is paid a salary continues to dictate for someone who pays him.”
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It would be recalled that ASUU went a roll-over strike on February 14, 2022.
