NASS REPUBLIC: $23m Abacha loot to settle ASUU? Two other stories, and a quote to remember

The Federal lawmaker representing Jos South/Jos East Federal constituency of Plateau State, Hon. Dachung Musa Bagos, last week, suggested that the Federal Government should channel the recently returned $23m late Gen. Sani Abacha loot to settle the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU).

Two other stories from the nation’s legislative chamber drew curiosity and made our pick within the week in review.

1. Abacha loot for ASUU?

Hon Bagos, on August 24, argued that some of the areas the Federal Government was channelling monies recovered from the Abacha loot did not meet the needs of Nigerians, suggesting that the funds should be used to resolve the ASUU crisis.

“As a representative of the people, if I have to argue where those funds should be channelled to on the floor, I will say, ‘why can’t you channel this fund to ASUU so that most of the youths that are at home would go back to school?’ But some of the areas we feel that the executive is channelling those funds are not the immediate needs of Nigerians,” he said during an interview on Channels Television’s Politics Today.

Bagos’ thinking drives home the pains of most Nigerians who reason that the Federal Government should find more creative ways to end the 6-month-old strike which has crippled tertiary education in public universities.

His concerns also set a reminder or queries what has actually become of the huge sums of money recovered from the Abacha loot, and why Federal lawmakers have developed cold feet in initiating a proper inquest into the management of recovered loots.

While Bagos’ thoughts are valid, they might as well be empty noise unless his fellow lawmakers pursue the cause with determination and patriotism.

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NASS MEMORY LANE

Who said;

“I am disappointed that our politics here is riddled with a lot of errors. The country has been able to nurture hegemonic cliques inhabited by the two dominant parties in the country. we have to break the chain of hegemony in order to make Nigeria work. The country lags behind due to the politics of godfatherism.”

Answer: See end of post

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Two other stories

2. Dagogo’s support for Atiku

On August 23, Hon. Farah Dagogo, vowed to mobilise a ten million-man march in order to drum up support for the presidential candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Atiku Abubakar, across the Niger Delta, ahead of the 2023 elections.

Read also: NASS REPUBLIC: That threat on Dogara’s life. Two other stories, and a quote to remember

In a statement in Port Harcourt, the Rivers State capital, Dagogo said, “Conducting elections in Nigeria changed. Voting power is now with the people. No one can order anyone around, on who to vote for or not, no matter how highly placed, because the people are the deciders with their PVCs, and votes.”

Dagogo’s expressed intentions are the usual hallmarks of an electioneering season. It is not unlikely that he has aimed an indirect kick at the Rivers State Governor, Nyesom Wike, who has not hidden his opposition to the party’s choice of Atiku as presidential candidate.

Will Dagogo’s brag about a ten-million-man march materialize? It will be interesting to see how far his support goes for Atiku.

3. Kalu’s call for ASUU

The Chief Whip of the Senate, Senator Orji Uzor Kalu, on August 25, appealed to the Federal Government to reconsider their stance, and make a deal that would lead to the end of the ASUU strike.

“For the sake of the lecturers who have no other source of income, but salaries earned. For the sake of the undergraduates who may lose interest in education should the strike not end soon. I appeal to the Federal Government to reconsider their stance and make a deal that would lead to the end of the ASUU strike,” Orji said via his verified Facebook page.

Kalu’s show of empathy is commendable. It paints a very vivid picture of the grim realities that have trailed the protracted strike. With the Federal Government’s stand on no work, no pay, and with ASUU’s recent declaration of an indefinite strike, after it has lingered for 6 months, the situation appears set for the worse.

Though it is not within the Chief Whip’s jurisdiction to resolve the issues surrounding the strike, a greater impact of his clamour may be felt if he champions a more coordinated effort to end the impasse. Anything less is playing to the gallery!

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Answer: Senator Enyinnaya Abaribe

Abaribe made the statement on June 18, 2022, when he featured on an Arise TV interview. He is the immediate past Minority Leader of the Senate. Abaribe represents Abia South Senatorial District at the NASS.

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