Hmm This telenovela is coming to and I hope
The presidential aide addressed the media on
Wednesday.
The Senior Special Assistant to the President on Public
Affairs, Doyin Okupe, has provided evidence that the
Federal Government has opened an account for public
universities at the Central Bank of Nigeria, CBN.
The opening of the account and disbursement of N200
billion to the universities within two weeks was one of
the
demands made by ASUU before they would call off the
five months old strike.
ASUU president, Nasir Fagge, had stated in an interview
with Channels TV that the opening of the account and
the
disbursement of the money to the Universities would
make the lecturers call off the strike.
“Once that is done, and the committee that is supposed
to disburse the funds starts working, our members will
have no reason not to suspend the strike action,” he
said.
Mr. Fagge had also addressed a press conference on
Monday in which he stated that a central monitoring
committee should be established to monitor the usage of
the revitalisation fund and should submit quarterly
reports to the Minister of Education.
Speaking to journalists in his office on Wednesday, Mr.
Okupe showed reporters evidence of correspondences
between the office of the Accountant General of the
Federation, AGF, and the Central Bank.
The documents showed that on November 13, the AGF
authorized the banking and payment system
department
of the Central Bank of Nigeria via a letter with
reference
number FD/OAGF/220/ADC/1/4DF to open a
“revitalization
of Universities Infrastructural Account” with the CBN.
Also, on November 29, the Central Bank confirmed in a
letter reference BPSD/BSD/CON VOL 17/088 to the
Accountant General of the Federation that the said
account had been opened and an account number was
given.
Mr. Okupe said prior to these, the Director of Funds in
the Office of the Accountant General of the Federation,
M.K. DIKWA, through a letter reference FD/
LP2008/37/C/I/DF,and dated November 8,
communicated with the ExecutiveSecretary of the
Nigeria Universities Commission, NUC,Julius Okojie,
requesting for the list of federal universities in Nigeria
for the purpose of opening a Special Account for them.
[B]Mr. Okupe said that on November 12, Mr. Okojie’s
office, in a letter referenced NUC/ES/444/VOL15/280,
responded to the request and gave the list of the
universities with their various account numbers
domiciled with the Central Bank.[/b]
“Following this, the Accountant General has
communicated with the Executive Secretary requesting
for the details of amount payable to each of the listed
Universities which is currently being processed by the
NUC,” Mr. Okupe said.
While speaking to Channels TV over the weekend, Mr.
Fagge had wondered why the government failed to make
the money available.
“Why won’t government make available this money so
that we know the money is there and the universities
commence drawing from this money to address the
problem of decay in infrastructure, teaching and research
facilities? When that is done, our members will suspend
the strike,” he said.
Mr. Okupe did not comment on the other major
demands
by ASUU that non-victimization of lecturers that partook
in the strike be included in the final agreement to be
signed by the lecturers’ union and the federal
government; and that the agreement be signed on behalf
of the federal government by the chief law officer of the
country, the Attorney General of the Federation.
He also did not comment on why a renegotiation of the
controversial 2009 agreement between both parties be
done in 2014, as reportedly agreed at a meeting with
President Goodluck Jonathan, was not contained in the
‘resolution’ of the meeting prepared by the government
and sent to ASUU.
The presidential aide did not entertain questions after the
media briefing.
The Federal Government, through the NUC, had given an
ultimatum that all university lecturers resume by
December 9 or face sack.
I want to believe that this News is valid but yet a part of me still feels
Something fishy is going on ......
Credits:PremiumTimes
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