Good News, ASUU Strike: FG Produces Document For Lodgement of 200 Billion

The Senior Special Assistant to the President on Public Affairs, Dr Doyin Okupe, at a press conference in his office in Abuja, yesterday, said the ultimatum given to members of the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) is not an issue anymore as the Federal Government is only interested in how to resolve the crisis peacefully. According to Okupe, “Right now, the issue of ultimatum is not a matter for discussion anymore. I told you, there has been substantial compliance nationwide. If I say you must return to work on the 9th and 70 per cent of the people that I am talking to have returned to work, that is substantial compliance. What becomes of the remaining 30 per cent who did not return to work? These are issues that we don’t want to stop the wheel of progress in sorting out this resolution. We are not interested in witch-hunting, we are more interested in compliance and in the resolution of the crisis. This government is not grandstanding and need not flex…the media has presented it as if the Federal Government and ASUU are in a face-off. That is not entirely very true. There is no face-off between the Federal Government and ASUU. ASUU may be grandstanding, but the Federal Government is more interested in the resolution than in any form of confrontation with any union whatsoever. Our interest is to ensure good governance, orderliness and peaceful coexistence nationwide and, among all sectors of the economy, eduction is not left behind. In the Faculty of Law of the University of Lagos, for instance, out of 100 lecturers, 70 signed up; in Arts and Science, 60 plus per cent or so signed and this happens virtually in all the universities in the country, OAU, Ibadan, all over. So, this was the trend, this was what happened all over the nation yesterday (Monday).”

The presidential aide also produced the confirmation letter from the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), confirming the lodgment of N200 billion in an account entitled the “Revitalisation of Universities Infrastructure” at the apex bank. The letter, with reference number GVD/DGO/GEN/MP/05/151, was entitled: “Confirmation of the execution of your mandate for the credit of Account No…Revitalisation of Universities Infrastructure Account.” Signed by Mr Tunde Lemo, Deputy Governor (Operations), the letter stated that “I write to confirm the execution of the following mandates by the CBN for funding of the above mentioned account as follows: Mandate FD/LP2013/40/1/30/DF –N129,300,000,000; Mandate FD/F124/Vol XII/120/DF N20,700,000,000 and Mandate FD/LP2013/40/1/DF – N50,000,000,000.I wish to further confirm that the available balance in the aforementioned account is N200,000,000,000.Please, accept the assurances of my best regards.”