ASUU to Buhari: Iyayi must not die in vain over N1.3trn intervention agreement

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Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) has told President Muhammadu Buhari that the death of former president of the union, Prof Festus Iyayi, over the N1.3trillion intervention agreement with the Federal Government must not be in vain.

Iyayi died in a ghastly auto crash involving a convoy of Kogi State Governor, Idris Wada, when he was travelling with other ASUU officials to attend an emergency ASUU meeting to suspend a six-month old strike in 2013.

The Ibadan zonal coordinator of ASUU, Prof Segun Ajiboye, disclosed this in a statement entitled: “Iyayi must not die in Vain,” made available to newsmen in Ibadan yesterday.

Ajiboye, who was part of an enlarged congress held in honour of Iyayi at Olabisi Onabanjo University, Ago-Iwoye in Ogun State, lamented that since 2013 when ASUU suspended the strike, universities were yet to get any intervention fund apart from the initial N200 billion released in 2013 out of the N1.3 trillion intervention agreement signed with the union.

He, however, enjoined President Buhari and the Minister of Education, Adamu Adamu, to pay the outstanding, earned academic allowances and commence renegotiation of the agreement.
His words: “Academic staff in Nigerian universities are getting restive because of the failure of government to attend fully to the agreement reached with the union. It is high time the government of President Buhari invested in education for a secured future of the country.

“Festus Iyayi fought for the masses and lived an exemplary life. We are calling on the new Minister of Education and President Buhari to ensure that children of the poor have access to qualitative education. The minister must ensure the full implementation of the 2009 agreement. The National Assembly should drive the change in the country by voting 26 per cent of the budget for education. Iyayi’s dream for education in Nigeria must not die.”

Source: Daily Sun