Don Criticises FG’s Handling of Agreements With ASUU

Prof. Samuel Asagba, the vice-chancellor of Delta State University (DELSU), Abraka, Delta State, has harshly criticized the Federal Government for its ongoing mismanagement of agreements with the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU), cautioning that the nation’s educational future is being severely harmed by the recurrent cycle of strikes and campus closures.

Speaking at a press conference yesterday to commemorate his first year in office, Asagba claimed that Nigeria’s university system is unstable, unappealing, and far from international standards due to the constant disruption of academic activities, which is primarily caused by the government’s failure to implement negotiated welfare packages.

In order to prevent future labor unrest, he urged President Bola Tinubu to immediately implement a regular and automatic compensation adjustment scheme for university employees, akin to the military’s periodic upward reviews.

“ASUU needs to be called and negotiated with,” stated Asagba. Lecturers won’t always have to complain because our pay has been streamlined. Every three or four years, the government quietly modifies military salaries. Why are universities unable to achieve that? Why are they unable to regard us as significant participants in this country?

The VC bemoaned the decline in regard for the academic profession, pointing out that in the 1960s, the position and pay of a Nigerian professor were equivalent to those of the country’s chief justice.

Asagba criticized what he called the Federal Government’s “habitual breach” of memoranda signed with ASUU, pointing out that every unfulfilled agreement sets off another round of conflict that leaves students stranded, academic calendars warped, research weakened, and universities losing their ability to compete.

Asagba insisted that DELSU is subtly redefining itself as a cutting-edge, technologically advanced institution while highlighting significant reforms and accomplishments made during his first year in office, despite the nation’s disarray.