Federal Government and ASUU

Public university campuses are quiet – learning activities are in full gear, accreditation of academic programmes for quality assurance is on-going, in some cases, with fait accompli outcomes, students are graduating, some in flying colours, celebrated at convocation ceremonies lased with hackneyed speeches and naturally, parents and guardians are happy that all is well. But it is an uneasy calm. The eight-month strike by members of the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) is on record as the longest ever in the annals of the union’s industrial actions to demand for revitalisation and repositioning of Nigerian university for global competitiveness, visibility and national development.

It was not intended by the union to be protracted in the understanding that the issues were germane to elicit positive action from a responsible government. But the union was wrong in this presumption as the government under former President Muhammadu Buhari was obdurate, gerrymandering, deploying delay tactics, and ultimately, closed the door on the union, truncating the re-negotiation of the 2009 agreement. It did not matter to the government if the universities were shut down ad infinitum because education, nay university education, was not primal on its agenda.

The government failed to appreciate the nexus between education at this level and national development, demonstrable in countries which have made progress. Thus, the demands of the union remained unresolved by the federal government, and status quo ante subsists. But what were the demands? They include: Funding for revitalisation of public universities.

On this, the government of former President Goodluck Ebele Jonathan had made a commitment in 2013 to inject N1.3 trillion into the universities in six tranches,demonstrated by an initial release of N200 billion. Succeeding government did not sustain this commitment; removal of universities from the Integrated Personnel and Payroll Information System (IPPIS) and adoption of the University Transparency and Accountability Solution (UTAS) developed by the Union on prompting by the government; constitution of visitation panels which was overdue; payment of backlog of Earned Academic Allowances (EAA).

Others are: Payment of unremitted third party deductions for the union and cooperatives that were pending; objection to proliferation of universities amid poor funding of the existing ones; budgetary allocation of 26 per cent to the education sector in line with UNESCO’s minimum benchmark on it in contrast to the ones in Nigeria viz:15% (2025), 7.9% (2024), 7.12% ( 2019), 10.

79% (2015), etc.; improved remuneration for academic staff and Payment of arrears on promotion of academic staff to higher ranks. Averse to the principle of collective bargaining, the federal government, in the twilight of Buhari’s administration whimsically awarded 25 and 35% increases on salaries for different categories of staff, the latter being for professors effective from January 2023.

For the 2023 budget, N50 billion was ear-marked for payment of allowances to university lecturers i.e., EAA.

The advent of ‘Tinubunomics’, hallmarked by petroleum subsidy removal and flotation of the national currency and the attendant inflation on goods and services, the need to renegotiate, de novo, the inchoate agreement was compelling and expectedly the union is engaged with government on it. However, there are matters which do not require negotiation or renegotiation but for implementation without further delay, namely: Payment of earned academic allowances; payment of one year arrears on salary adjustment – 25 and 35% effective from January 2023; payment of unremitted third party deductions which, as pertaining to cooperatives are savings of staff. In this category are deductions arising from four months withheld salaries of academic staff which have not been remitted to the cooperatives and Payment of arrears on salary for staff promoted to higher levels.

To a large measure, non-remittance of third party deductions is a sad comment on the inefficiency, corruption and ineptitude evident in the deployment of the IPPIS for payment of university staff. Payment of these entitlements would be, no doubt ameliorative for academic staff battling under the current excruciating economic conditions. It is simply amazing that academic staff members have demonstrated considerable restraints and resilience, working assiduously to keep the university running despite the un-conducive working conditions and government’s insouciance to their demands.

But for how long? There are other matters which have not been vigorously pursued by the union, ostensibly because the issues before it are legion and governments, over the years, have been lethargic and noncommittal on them. A notable one is pension on retirement for professors. Section 1.

6.5 of the Guidelines for the Administration of Retirement Benefits of Professors and a Category of Political Appointees vide PENCOM/DG/DGO/2017/776 , September 5, 2017 states: “ Section 6(2) of the Pension Reform Act 2014 provides that in the case of Professors covered by the Universities Miscellaneous Provision (Amendment) Act 2012 and Category of Political Appointees entitled, by virtue of their terms and conditions of employment, to retire with full benefits, the Commission shall issue guidelines to regulate the administration of their retirement benefits, provided that any shortfall shall be funded from budgetary allocation by the employer”. On the eligibility criteria for Professors, Section 2.

1.1. states: “ For any Professor to be entitled to receive pension at a rate equivalent to his or her annual salary upon retirement such a Professor must: i).

be an academic staff who retires as a Professor after serving continuously up to the retirement age of 70 years in a university recognised by the National Universities Commission or ii). Has served a minimum of 20 years as a Professor in a university recognised by the National Universities Commission, and retired before attaining the age of 70 years. The eligibility criteria applicable to Head of Service and Permanent Secretary are also stated in the guideline.

It is therefore preposterous, inexplicable and outright discrimination that the policy has been implemented for political appointees as categorised but not so for Professors. Again, the question: when will the policy be implemented for Professors? The Nigeria Tax Bill, 2024 states in Section 59(3) on Development Levy: “The revenue accruing from the levy shall be distributed as follows, a). Tertiary Education Fund i) 50% in 2025 and 2026 years of assessment.

ii). 662/3 % in 2027, 2028 and 2029 years of assessment. iii).

0% in 2030 year of assessment and thereafter.” In sub-section (4) it says: “Notwithstanding anything contained in any law, no part of the levy charged under this section shall be distributed to the (b) Tertiary Education Trust Fund after 2029 year of assessment”. It bears recall that Education Tax Fund was the brain child of ASUU in the 1992 agreement with the federal government to provide critical intervention for the education sector.

Indeed TETFund has been providing support to universities for physical infrastructure, academic staff training and for research. By the provision in section 59(4) of the Tax Bill 2024, it means de facto, TETFund ceases to exist after 2029 leaving the tertiary institutions to the vagaries of budgetary allocations to the education sector which have been un-salutary over the years. It is clearly a recipe for future restiveness in public universities and the provision, on this ground, must not stand.

In all this, the crisis in the education sector is a sad reflection of the multi-faceted challenges bedevilling the Nigerian politico-economy all of which point to a systemic failure of leadership and of governance. On leadership, “it is more than just the ability. It is a combination of courage, determination, commitment, character and ability that makes people willing to follow a leader” (Lee Kuan Yew).

These are attributes which are demonstrably lacking in many of our leadership across board, underscored by a palpable relegation of our educational system. Education as the bedrock of nation building must occupy a pride of place in development agenda. It is imperative to address the structural dysfunction in our governance system which accord ascendance to mediocrities in leadership so that the university may play active roles in the development process.

Prof. Eromosele is former Deputy Vice-Chancellor (Academic), Federal University of Agriculture, Abeokuta..