ASUU-NDU protests federal loans, unpaid salaries, non-implementation of agreements

• Says loans are generational slavery

From Femi Folaranmi, Yenagoa

Lecturers at the Bayelsa State-owned Niger Delta University, Amassoma, have staged a peaceful protest around the university campus against the recently introduced Federal Government Tertiary Institutions Staff Support Fund loan scheme.

They also described the loan as deliberate generational bondage for university lecturers, as students have been tied to educational loans.

The ASUU-NDU, after an emergency meeting on Tuesday, staged a peaceful protest, accusing the Federal Government of persistent neglect of its long-standing demands and agreements.

The protesting lecturers carried placards with inscriptions such as “Federal Government should sign 2009 renegotiated agreement”, “Federal Government should release already budgeted funds for revitalisation of public universities”, “Sustainable funding for our universities”, and “Pay 25% and 35% wage awards”.

The Chairman of ASUU-NDU, Comrade Lucky Bebeteidor Oyinkepreye, said the protest was to point out to the Federal Government that it is playing with the sensibilities of university teachers with the proposed loans and unfulfilled agreements.

He said, despite the subsisting 2009 agreement reached with the Yayale Ahmed Committee set up by the Federal Government, the Federal Government has refused to heed the terms of the agreement.

Oyinkepreye said the lecturers have resolved that the Federal Government does not need to give lecturers loans because in every chapter of ASUU nationwide, there are existing cooperatives from which lecturers can draw loans.

“In NDU alone, we have two cooperatives from which we can take loans if need be. The Federal Government does not even need to give us a loan. A loan that is not even budgeted for. A loan that they want to use to divert monies from the TETFund to give to academics. We don’t want loans. They should just pay our outstanding 25 per cent and 35 per cent wage awards. This also goes to the state government. They should pay us the remaining 19 months owed. The salary increase is what we want, not loans.”

He called on President Bola Tinubu to take a second look at the proposed loan scheme for lecturers, saying it is a diversionary ploy by the Federal Government to impoverish lecturers. “After they have succeeded in making our children (students) take educational loans for studies, now they want to enslave the parents (lecturers) with loans,” he said.