The Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) has expressed deep disappointment over the recently announced members of the governing councils for federal universities, claiming that the composition is even worse than the previous one.
This sentiment was voiced by ASUU’s national president, Prof. Emmanuel Osodeke, in an exclusive interview with the Nigerian Tribune over the weekend.
Prof. Osodeke criticised the new list, stating that it predominantly features “retired politicians” rather than technocrats, which he believes is detrimental to the advancement of university education in Nigeria.
“Go and look at the list again, you will see that most of them are retired politicians. They are honourable this and honourable that. What does that tell us?” Osodeke remarked. “That is how terrible the thing has become. And we can’t run our universities like this if we truly want genuine development to take place.”
ASUU’s concerns are not limited to the calibre of individuals on the new list but also touch on the legality of constituting new councils.
The union contends that the Federal Government’s decision to form new councils is illegal, as the previous councils, dissolved over ten months ago, had not completed their tenures in accordance with the University Act.
ASUU argues that the government should have reinstated the old councils to complete their terms rather than appointing new members.
The union emphasised that university education should not be subject to partisan politics if Nigeria aims to achieve quality education that will drive real economic prosperity.
