FG’s claim on N130bn intervention fund fraudulent –ASUU

The Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) yesterday described the Federal Government’s claim that it had released the sum of N130 billion intervention fund to universities as fraud.  The Ibadan Zonal Chairman of ASUU, Dr. Nassir Adesola, stated this in a communiqué read after the zonal meeting of the union held at the University of Ibadan. Adesola said rather than source for fund to meet the requirements of the agreement it signed with the union, the government hijacked the resources of TETFUND which already belonged to the universities as intervention fund.

He insisted by doing this, the Federal Government automatically blocked the regular intervention of TETFUND to the universities, describing the initiative as fraudulent. The ASUU boss claimed that the Federal Government was interested in awarding contracts to build a 4-bedspace room at N8.5 million as against the N800, 000 and N1.2 million suggested by the union. Adesola said: “Despite its claim, the Federal Government is yet to release a dime of the amount other than the letters written to the Governing Council of the universities by the National Universities Commission (NUC).
“Rather than for the government to source for the intervention funds from other agencies outside TETFUND, it decided to hijack the resource of TETFUND, which already belong to the universities and use it as intervention funds for this purpose. In doing this the regular intervention of TETFUND is blocked. This attitude of government is fraudulent to say the least.”The Ibadan Zone of ASUU comprises of University of Ibadan (UI), Lagos State University (LASU), Federal University of Agriculture, Abeokuta, University of Lagos (UNILAG), Olabisi Onabanjo University (OOU) and Tai Solarin University of Education (TASUED), Ijebu Ode.
Adesola, however, decried what he described as the Federal Government’s usual deceit, saying: “Nigerians should know that no dime has been released to the union.”



Source: National Mirror