Leaders of the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) have faulted the sharing formula for the Federal Government’s N200 billion intervention fund for public universities.
The union, last year, went on a prolonged strike protesting Federal Government’s inability to implement agreements it reached with the union years back.
Among the agreements was the government’s yearly provision of funds to upgrade infrastructure in public universities beginning with the release of N200 billion.
But months after ending the strike, it was learnt that the union’s leaders disagreed on the sharing formula for the fund.
The Ministry of Education and the Nigerian Universities Commission (NCC) were said to have agreed that the fund be shared 80 per cent to federal universities and 20 per cent to state universities.
The 80:20 sharing ratio, it was learnt, has pitted the state chapters of ASUU against their federal counterparts.
Inquiries in some state universities showed that the chapters of ASUU were angry with the ministry and NCC and were prepared to resist the formula.
The Chairman of ASUU at the Bayelsa State-owned Niger Delta University (NDU), Dr Bekee Sese, said the 80:20 sharing formula in favour of federal universities was unfair.
The union leader said no university had accessed the funds, adding that the Federal Government was reluctant to allow state universities benefit from the cash.
He noted that since the money was “an intervention fund”, there was no basis for the discrimination.
Dr Sese said most governors were not serious about funding state universities.
The union leader said ASUU’s state chapters relied on the intervention fund to ensure that infrastructural development in their institutions was at par with their federal counterparts.
He alleged that the 80:20 per cent sharing formula was Federal Government’s deliberate attempt to divide the body.
Dr Sese recalled that during the negotiations with the government, such a sharing ratio was not mentioned.
He said: “The initial objective was to use this money to bring state universities at par with Federal universities. It is a deliberate attempt by Federal authorities to divide ASUU along state and Federal universities’ lines.
“This money is not a budget; it is a special intervention fund. We should stop discriminating against universities. In most of the congresses, the members are not happy about it. But nothing can divide ASUU.
“This matter is coming after we have concluded the struggle. We will continue to dialogue and discuss.”
Also, the ASUU Chairman of Ambrose Ali University, Ekpoma, Prof. Esumen, said the sharing formula was the handiwork of the NUC and the Ministry of Education.
The union leader alleged that it was a ploy to divide the union.
He added that such a sharing formula was alien to the agreement with the government.
Prof Esumen said: “Nobody can hide that sharing formula any more. It is true and it was those implementing the agreement that came up with it, particularly those from the Federal Ministry of Education and the NUC. They are the architects of this.
Why would it not be 80:20??? Who is providing the funds, is it state governments???
Did the state governments set up mushroom universities so that FG can be funding them while thy waste their share of allocations and others on frivolities???