By Oso Abidemi
The Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU), Bauchi Zone, has dismissed the Federal Government’s claim that insufficient funds prevented it from meeting the full salary demands of university lecturers.
Zonal Coordinator, Prof. Timothy Namu, told journalists in Jos that the real issue is not a lack of money but a lack of political will and misplaced priorities.
He cited figures from the Federation Accounts Allocation Committee (FAAC), showing significant revenue growth for both states and the Federal Government between 2022 and 2024.
According to him, FAAC allocations to states rose from ₦3.92 trillion in 2022 to ₦5.81 trillion in 2024, an increase of over 62 per cent, while federal allocations grew from ₦3.42 trillion to ₦4.65 trillion, representing more than 70 per cent growth.
“These statistics confirm that education suffers not because funds are unavailable but because government priorities lie elsewhere,” Namu said.
He noted that the ASUU National Executive Council (NEC), at its meeting in Jalingo from November 8-9, rejected the Federal Government’s proposed salary increase, describing it as “a drop in the ocean” and far below what is needed to curb brain drain in universities.
Namu added that although ASUU suspended its warning strike after partially achieving its objectives, nearly a week to the expiration of the four-week deadline given to the government, nothing meaningful has been done.
ASUU appealed to traditional rulers, students, civil society organisations, the Nigeria Labour Congress, and the National Assembly to press the government to address the union’s demands to prevent another round of crises in the university system.
