Slavish’ – ASUU rejects Nigerian Govt’s loans for staff of tertiary institutions
The Academic Staff Union of Universities, ASUU, has described the Federal Government’s Tertiary Institution Staff Support Loan Scheme, TISSLS, as yet another antic to divert attention from signing and implementing the draft renegotiated agreement.
Recall that the Federal Government had launched the Tertiary Institutions Staff Support Fund, a welfare and empowerment initiative offering academic and non-academic staff of Nigerian tertiary institutions interest-free loans of N10 million.
Addressing a press conference in Uyo on Monday, the zonal Coordinator of ASUU, Calabar Zone, Comrade Ikechuku Igwenyi who was flanked by chairpersons of the eight chapters in the zone, including the immediate past zonal coordinator, Comrade Happiness Uduk, wondered how a government that owes its workforce and refuses to implement the 2009 agreement with the union would turn around to offer same workers interest free loan.
He described the gesture as “slavish” and an insult on the lecturers’ sensibilities.
Igwenyi also wondered why government could not use such funds to stabilize the workers through payment of their salaries and improvement on their wages but instead, chose to embark on what he described as frivolities.
He said: “How can a responsible government, in the face of these debts owed university lecturers, turn around to ask university-based unions to take the responsibility of guaranteeing the loan they know nothing about?
