The Social Democratic Party, SDP, Presidential flagbearer, Prince Adewole Adebayo, says the quickest solution to the unending crisis between the federal government and the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU), is to take education money out of government control and keep it in the hands of independent trustees.
Prince Adebayo in an interview with Sheriff Quadry on Morning Crossfire said a responsible government could have handled the crisis between the two parties more effectively by ensuring proper management of the funds made available for tertiary education.
He says if elected, "the tertiary education trust fund will be taken away from the Ministry of Education and put in the hand of independent trustees as it was the desire when the decree was passed under General Abacha."
"The trust fund was not meant to be run independently. The government's insistence on controlling education’s money, which is not coming from the government but from the Nigerian people, not even through general taxation but through specific taxation for the purpose of education."
"That money, I will remove from the ministry of education and tension between ASUU and the government will fizzle out immediately," the SDP presidential candidate adds.
A lot of people have argued that the Federal Government cannot afford to pay ASUU revitalization and earned allowances, which amount to about N1.1trn.
Responding, Adewole said this is untrue, adding that anyone who says there is no money is the number one enemy in government.
"How much money is ASUU looking for? You’re spending six trillion among those doing 'fake subsidies'. The money they have stolen from defence spending is over nine trillion.
"The Accountant general, an individual, he alone stole 109 billion. One person stole ten per cent of what ASUU is asking for. So you can imagine why he is on the side of those saying there was no money."
Watch part of the conversion below or full interview here:
