Despite strikes induced by inadequate funding, Osinbajo says govt’ll continue to invest in varsities

Despite several strikes by the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) and other unions which regularly cripple the educational sector, the Vice President Yemi Osinbajo has stated that the Federal Government will continue to invest in the nation’s universities.

Osinbajo made this call on Thursday at the formal handover of the Muhammadu Indimi International Learning Centre and International Conference Centre to the management of UNIMAID in Maiduguri.

But Osinbajo detailed the facilities put in place by the federal government in selected institutions in order to facilitate the learning process amongst students in the country

UNIMAID is in phase 2 of the Energising Education Programme funded through the Rural Electrification Agency while similar projects had been completed in other universities, Osinbajo noted.

“The Federal Government through REA, in partnership with the World Bank, is in advanced stages of establishing a 12MW Solar Hybrid Power Plant to power UNIMAID and its Teaching Hospital.

“The project will also include a training center and is modeled around similar projects that have already been completed in Bayero University Kano (BUK), the Federal University of Agriculture Makurdi (FUAM), Usman Danfodio University Sokoto (UDUS) and the Alex Ekwueme Federal University Ndufu-Alike (FUNAI).

“Additionally, I am pleased to announce that through the Economic Sustainability Plan approved by the president, NNPC, REA and Yola DISCO are partnering with my office and the Office of the Governor of Borno to deploy 30MW of Solar Power to critical areas of Maiduguri.

“This will be six solar plants of 5MW each to augment grid supply and protect against energy sabotage.

“Let me also say that the efforts of the Federal Government and private persons can only be truly useful where the state government is serious about the development,” Osinbajo said.

The facilities which were built and donated to the university by businessman and philanthropist, Muhammadu Indimi, were inaugurated by President Muhammadu Buhari in Dec. 2021.

Read also: ASUU slams Osinbajo’s comment he got N620 salary as university lecturer

Virtually every strike by lecturers and university workers in the country have always centered on alleged government refusal to provide adequate funding, and provision of facilities in the institutions, as well as poor welfare of workers.

The ASUU had routinely criticised the country’s leadership for neglecting the education sector over alleged lack of funds.

Emmanuel Osodeke, the ASUU National Chairman, said the leadership is responsible for the appalling state of the economy due to its dishonesty over the fuel subsidy regime which has affected other facets of the economy, especially education.

He further noted that part of the reason for the current strike action is for the FG to sustain the momentum and positive strides being recorded by Nigerian universities recently.

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