ASUU Decries Private Crowdfunding Platform

The leadership of the Academic Staff Union of Universities, ASUU, has rejected a crowdfunding platform initiated to end the ongoing strike by lecturers of public universities in the country.

The crowdfunding platform initiated by acclaimed philanthropist and owner of Human Rights Radio, Ahmed Isah, was aimed at raising money for the lecturers’ union with a view to ending the strike that has grounded academic activities in the nation’s public varsities.

Isah had invited the leadership of ASUU, led by its president,Prof. Emmanuel Osodeke, to his station to intimate them of his efforts aimed at resolving the age-long crisis between ASUU and the federal government but Osodeke blatantly refused the gesture.

It is gathered that the public had started donating money to the cause with the Governor of Akwa Ibom State, Udom Emmanuel, contributing N50 million to the project before ASUU decried the action and asked that it be counted out of the initiative.

Recall that ASUU has been on strike since February and all efforts made by the government, stakehokders including religious and traditional leaders to make the union call off were unsuccessful.

Isah also said he had set up a special intervention bank account domiciled in TAJ Bank to raise funds for the union, with a view to ending the strike.

In his desperate bid to convince ASUU to support the crowdfunding project, Isah had openly displayed the N50 million cash support by the governor but rather than applauding the initiative, Osodeke flayed the development, asking that his union be dissociated from the initiative.

Given the red flag accorded the project by the union he was working to assist, Isah furiously announced discontinuation of the intervention scheme.

Recall that ASUU’s demands include, funding of the revitalisation of public universities, Earned Academic Allowances, University Transparency Accountability Solution,UTAS and promotion arrears.

Others are the renegotiation of 2009 ASUU-FG Agreement and the inconsistency in Integrated Personnel Payroll Information System.