ASUU Complicit in the Menace of Corruption in Universities, Says Buhari
- President Muhammad Buhari has taken a swipe at the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU)
- According to the president, members of the union are complicit in the menace of corruption in Nigeria's tertiary education sector
- The president said some activities of corrupt lecturers impinges on the fight against the menace in the education sector
PAY ATTENTION: Click “See First” under the “Following” tab to see Legit.ng News on your Facebook News Feed!
Aso Rock - President Muhammad Buhari on Tuesday, October 4 accused the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) of complicity in the menace of corruption in Nigeria's tertiary education sector.
President Buhari spoke in an address during the fourth National Summit on Diminishing Corruption in the Public Sector.
Source: Facebook
The event was jointly organised by the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC), Office of the Secretary to the Government of the Federation and Joint Admission and Matriculation Board, held at the Banquet hall of the Presidential Villa, Abuja.
The Guardian newspaper quoted Buhari as saying:
PAY ATTENTION: Subscribe to Digital Talk newsletter to receive must-know business stories and succeed BIG!
“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 president also listed other activities by the lecturers including the deployment of disguised terminologies to perpetuate corruption in the ivory towers, a development he said, impinges on the fight against the menace in the education sector.
He said:
“Government and stakeholders in the educational sector are concerned about the manifestation of various forms of corruption in the education sector. I am aware that students in our universities, for example, use different terminologies to describe different forms of corruption they experience on our campuses.
“There is sorting or cash for marks/grades, sex for marks, sex for grade alterations, examination malpractice, and so on.
“Sexual harassment has assumed an alarming proportion. Other forms of corruption include pay-roll padding or ghost workers, lecturers taking up full-time appointments in more than one academic institution, including private institutions, lecturers writing seminar papers, projects and dissertations for students for a fee, and admission racketeering, to mention only the most glaring corrupt practices.”
He added:
“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.”
Buhari honours police officer for rejecting huge bribe in Kano
Vanguard newspaper reports that the highlight of the event was the conferment of the prestigious 2022 Public Service Integrity award by the president on Chief Superintendent of Police, Amah for rejecting a $200,000 bribe from robbers.
Amah is the Divisional Police Officer in charge of Nasarawa Division in Kano state.
ASUU strike: NANS rejects FG's plan to confer CON on Adamu Adamu
Meanwhile, the National Association of Nigerian Students (NANS) has kicked against the national honour expected to be conferred on Adamu Adamu, minister of education.
The minister is to be honoured with Commander of the Order of Niger by President Buhari at a ceremony scheduled for Tuesday, October 11.
Reacting in a statement seen by Legit.ng on Monday, October 3, Giwa Temitope, NANS spokesperson, condemned the move, saying it is an insult on Nigerian students.
ASUU strike will end when more private universities are established, says Imumolen
On his part, Accord Party presidential candidate, Professor Christopher Imumolen has called on the Nigerian authorities to reduce the stiffness surrounding the regulation of the crucial sector to allow private players inject excellence.
He said with more private players in the sector, ASUU strike is likely to be a thing of the past.
According to him, education is the fulcrum that carries national development and human capital enhancement, and it should not be shut down as Nigeria is currently doing.
Source: Legit.ng
