ASUU, VCs reject FG’s demand for 40% of varsities’ IGR

The Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU), and the Committee of Vice Chancellors of Nigerian Universities have lashed out at the Federal Government over its plan to automatically deduct 40 per cent from the Internally Generated Revenue of universities in the country

Recall that the Federal Government had in a letter, dated October 17, 2023, titled: ‘Implementation of 40% automatic deduction from internally generated revenue of partially-funded Federal Government institutions,’ said it would begin the deduction with effect from November 2023.

The letter signed by the Accountant-General of the Federation, Oluwatoyin Madein, Director of Revenue and Investment, Office of the Accountant-General of the Federation, Felix Ore-ofe Ogundairo, also said the auto-deduction policy of gross IGR was in line with the Finance Circular with reference number FMFBNP/OTHERS/IGR/CRF/12/2021 dated December 20, 2021.

However, the National President of ASUU, Prof. Emmanuel Osodeke, decried Federal Government’s decision, and stressed that universities were not generating any revenue from the user chargers/service fees they gave students.

He said: “This is what we saw when we were fighting that the government should fund universities and Nigerians think ASUU is the problem.

“Universities are not revenue-generating agencies, so the 40 per cent of the subsidised money students pay for a hostel, medicals, ID cards, lab coat, chemicals in the laboratory should still be shared with the government?

READ ALSO: ASUU opposes plans to include private varsities as TETFUND beneficiaries

“This is an extreme, that such is happening in Nigeria.. Will the Presidency ask the NASS, NNPC, to give a return of 40 per cent?

“Parents, students, Nigerians need to rise up to this. This is an attack on universities. Universities are already paying taxes. They pay withholding taxes and it goes to government. There is nothing like IGR in universities. What we have are charges.

“We need to know the 40 per cent of what they want to collect from universities. They are even saying lecturers should pay them accommodation fees too.

“They want 100 per cent of what they pay as accommodation. It is sad. Give us some time to interact with the government.”

On his part, the Secretary-General, Committee of Vice-Chancellors of Nigerian Universities, Prof. Yakubu Ochefu, said the amount deducted by the FG from universities was 25 per cent but was increased to 40 per cent recently.

Ochefu noted: “The Federal Government, through the Accountant General of the Federation, is citing the Finance Act of 2021 as the basis for the decision.

“We also have to look at the provision of the law. It says that it is when you have surplus in terms of your Internally Generated Revenue, that is when you can make the return to the government. But many universities don’t have IGR, because most universities charge students’ fees as user charges. Paying N2,000 for an ID card, which has already been subsidised by the university; they pay health insurance, sports, ICT, accommodation, these are all the charges that come together and universities must provide all these for their students.

“If a user charge is considered as IGR, then we have a problem with the nomenclature. The accountant general should clearly specify what he was referring to as IGR.

“If it is all these subsidised charges that the government wants to collect 40 per cent, then the universities will lead towards financial catastrophe.

“We will open our books to the world to let them know that this is how much we get in terms of user charges. Universities are being run in deficit and FG still wants to collect 40 per cent; that means you want the universities to run down.”

Join the conversation

Opinions

Support Ripples Nigeria, hold up solutions journalism

Balanced, fearless journalism driven by data comes at huge financial costs.

As a media platform, we hold leadership accountable and will not trade the right to press freedom and free speech for a piece of cake.

If you like what we do, and are ready to uphold solutions journalism, kindly donate to the Ripples Nigeria cause.

Your support would help to ensure that citizens and institutions continue to have free access to credible and reliable information for societal development.

Donate Now