ASUU is Corrupt – Buhari

President Buhari has accused some members of the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) of corruption.

Buhari stated this during the 4th national summit on diminishing corruption in the public sector, held at the State House Conference Centre, Aso Rock.

Other dignitaries present at the event organised by the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission, with the theme ‘Corruption and the Education Sector’, were its Chairman, Prof. Bolaji Owasanoye; Secretary to the Government of the Federation, Boss Mustapha; the Minister for Education, Adamu Adamu; and the former Chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission, Attahiru Jega.

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According to the President, ASUU is no less complicit in the corruption in tertiary education.

He said corruption in the education sector continues to undermine investments, while critics downplay funding by focusing only on budgetary allocations, urging a more comprehensive re-evaluation of expenditure.

President Buhari said;

“This year’s summit will mirror how corruption undermines educational policies, investments and create an unfriendly learning environment for our youths.

“Incessant strikes especially by unions in the tertiary education often imply that government is grossly underfunding education, but I must say that corruption in the education system from basic level to the tertiary level has been undermining our investment in the sector and those who go on prolonged strikes on flimsy reasons are no less complicit.

“The 1999 Constitution places a premium on education by placing it on the Concurrent List, thereby laying the responsibilities of budgeting and underwriting qualitative education on both the Federal and State Governments.

“The total education budget for each year is therefore a reflection of both federal and state budgets and should be viewed as other financial commitments in their totality.

“The allocation to education in the federal budget should not be considered via allocation to the Federal Ministry of Education and also academic institutions alone, but should include allocation to the Universal Basic Education, transfers to TETFUND and refund from the Education Tax Pool Account to TETFUND.

“Corruption in the expenditure of internally generated revenue of tertiary institutions is a matter that has strangely not received the attention of stakeholders in tertiary education, including unions.

“I call on stakeholders to demand accountability in the administration of academic institutions and for unions to interrogate the bloated personnel and recurrent expenditure of their institutions. Let me also implore the Unions to work with the government to put faces and identities to names on the payroll.

“Due to declining resources, the government cannot bear the cost of funding education alone. I task our academics to attract endowments, research and other grants to universities, polytechnics and colleges of education similar to what obtains in other countries.”