ABSU: Gov Otti Meets ASUU, Challenges Universities To Be Financially Independent

Governor Alex Otti of Abia State has challenged universities in the country to seek ways to become financially autonomous in order to have a sustainable qualitative tertiary education.

He gave the advice during a meeting with the executives of the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) of the Abia State University led by Dr. Happiness Uduak, the National Zonal Coordinator of ASUU for the Calabar Zone on Tuesday, 30th, January.

The governor, who spoke while responding to the demands of the ASUU delegation, said, “It is important that we put on our thinking cap and remove our begging cap because this whole idea of begging is the problem that we have in Nigeria.

“Even as a nation, we must consider being financially independent because we are constantly borrowing and pleading.

“We should be able to produce enough resources to accomplish a few tasks only from research, assuming anything is going on at the university.

“We must start planning how to turn our universities into financially independent institutions. I will back you if we refocus our ABSU ASUU to consider how they might help the university become autonomous. “We need to think in that direction because it is more sustainable.”

A statement from the governor’s Chief Press Secretary, Kazie Uko, said the leader of the ASUU delegation, Dr Uduak, had earlier congratulated the governor for showing concern for the well-being of ABSU staff by quickly paying their salaries and other benefits since he took office on May 29, 2023.

ASUU also listed  several other issues that the university and academic staff were facing, which include 11 months arrears of unpaid salaries since 2022 and re-evaluation of the university’s subvention as well as a salary renegotiation.

They also acknowledged that the issues predated the current administration, but pleaded with the governor to use his good office to step in.

The governor acknowledged that much work remained to be done to improve the institution, but stated that the Union’s demands were acceptable and that the government would do everything in its power to support the University.

In addition to bolstering the institution’s corporate governance, the governor also vowed to establish a visitation panel, investigate the union’s request for higher subvention, and meet with the university management to work out several concerns.

Earlier this month, on the 12th of January, the members of ASUU had wanted to embark on an industrial action over the 11 months salary arreas but the management of Abia State University intervened and urged ASUU to shelve the planned strike.