COVID-19: ASUU insists on measures against pandemic, oppose agitations for reopening of Universities

By Moses Mark

The Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU), has kicked against agitations on the reopening of Universities by stakeholders, amidst the prevailing and unresolved COVID-19 pandemic and ASUU strike.

It would be recalled that stakeholders from across the country had accused, ASUU of being responsible for the inability of the Federal Government to announce the reopening of Universities.

This was disclosed by the Zonal Coordinator, ASUU, Bauchi zone, Prof. Lawan Abubakar, while addressing journalists at the Union’s Secretariat in Jos, the Plateau State Capital.

Abubakar said, “Our position is Government should not reopen Universities until they have done the needful, that is providing the necessary facilities to curb the spread of COVID-19 in all the institutions.

According to him, “The Covid-19 pandemic has clearly exposed the poor funding of our health institutions, and particularly the educational institutions which further shows there are fundamental issues which needs to be addressed.

“And the Union is not saying that schools should continue to remain close, but what the union is saying is that; neither the COVID-19 pandemic nor the ASUU strike is the reason to justify the continuous closure, but fundamentally the government has failed.

“They have failed to address the obvious issues because there is no commitment to the Nigerian State”, he explained.

“The facilities that are needed in the educational and health sectors has not come to fruition yet; Is not all about pretending, you put protocols in place and there is no facilities to comply with the protocols”, the Union decried.

On the issue of the Integrated Payroll and Personnel Information System(IPPIS), the Zonal Coordinator said, “The new trend in the desperate attempt of the Accountant General of the Federation, to implement (IPPIS) in the Universities has exposed his excesses and how he has taken laws into his own hands.

“We would want to advise the AGF to assist Nigeria and Nigerians in curbing Mega-corruption in the many MDAs that have recently been exposed in this bad light.

“We have mechanisms to check any form of corruption in Nigerian Universities, as is being done in University of Lagos now.

ASUU also appeal to parents and students to reason with them and remain calm as they are working assiduously to make sure the right thing is done to better the nation’s University system.