If FG Really Loves Education, $23m Abacha Loot Would Be Used To Meet Our Demands – ASUU
The federal government, according to the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU), should have used the $23 million in recovered Abacha loot to fund its demands.
ASUU President Emmanuel Osodeke was interviewed on Channels Television on Tuesday.
Since February 2022, ASUU has been on strike to protest the federal government’s failure to meet its demands.
The federal government and the US came to an agreement last Tuesday to return a fresh batch of money that former Nigerian leader Sani Abacha had embezzled.
The recovered wealth, known as “Abacha-5,” according to Abubakar Malami, minister of justice and attorney general of the federation, has been set aside for the construction of the Second Niger Bridge, the Lagos-Ibadan expressway, and the Abuja-Kano road.
Following the announcement, the conversation has been rife on whether the federal government is making the right decision on the recovered loot amid the lingering ASUU strike.
Giving his take on the development, Osodeke said the federal government would have deployed the recovered loot to education if the government loves the sector.
“Definitely. Let’s use a typical man as an example, you have a house and your child is sick seriously and you were paid money that you were not expecting. Where will you put the money?” the ASUU president asked.
“That child should be the first thing you will treat. Is it not? Before you will start thinking about how you are going to buy clothes.
“Your universities are shut for six months. You now have access to a fund you were not expecting, If you really love education, where should you put the money? In that particular place. They said they don’t have money. We need to love this country.”
Reacting to reports that ASUU had stopped negotiations with the federal government, Osodeke said: “In Nigeria, we have so many media, social media, and what have you. They just release issues to get popularity. We never said so. We are open to negotiations and invitations as a union.”
The union recently announced its decision to convert the roll-over strike into a “comprehensive, total and indefinite” industrial action.
