ASUU rejects sale of national assets
The Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU), Plateau State Chapter, has condemned the call for sells of National Assets, as a solution to pull Nigeria out of recession, describing it as a huge negative impact on future generation.
The stand of ASUU was made known yesterday at a Public Lecture titled “Labouring Backwards; The Plight Of The Working Class Under Economic Recession”, held at the ASUU Secretariat, University of Jos.
Delivering the lecture, a guest Lecturer, Dr. Peter Ozo-Eson, said, recession facing the Country, is the future of Capitalism for Nigeria, if proper measures are put in the right place, in line with the national economic plan designed before and after the independence, as abandoned by the ruling class.
The University Done stressed also that, if Nigeria gets out of the current economic recession, then it must also, begin to plan ahead of another recession in the future, as the Country’s currency is under severe pressure which needs more practical measures than paper works.He said it would be difficult for the Country to get out of the current economic challenges confronting her, as no indication as to prove that the nation will get out of recession in no distance time, “about 5 months salaries of workers in about 27 out of the 36 States of the federation are yet to be paid, gratuity of 19 years of retired civil servants are not paid and the cost of living is high, especially to the common man in the streets”, Eson said.
He is also quoted saying that, if we are not careful, Nigeria would be like Zimbabwe in the past, where truck/a> were needed to buy bread, saying that, what our government has been doing in terms of economic policies, since 1999 is unconstitutional and the educational sector has been left with little or no attention, he lamented.
He advised that the federal government should go back to the drawing board of economic planning, cut cost of governance, revamped local industries and sectoral distribution of national budget across ministries department and agencies among others as possible solutions to get Nigeria out of it current economic challenges.
Speaking earlier, chairman of the occasion and Director, Jos Business School, Mr. Ezekiel Gomos, called for attitudinal change, lamenting the failure of good family up bringing which has hitherto made it difficult for trusted and good economic managers to emerge in the country.
However, the Vice Chancellor University of Jos, Prof. Sebastian Maimako who was represented by the Vice Chancellor, Prof. Theresa Nmadu, call for the understanding among Union members, on the current economic recession facing the country.
Also speaking, Chairman Plateau State Chapter ASUU, Dr. Christopher Piwuna, expressed worries, over the call for sells of National Assets as a result of recession, stating that Nigeria educational sector has been in recession long before now and nothing has been done to address it, even as about 21 Universities in the country can not receive salaries as at when due.
