Federal government advised to spend latest tranche of Abacha loot to resolve Asuu strike

NIGERIA'S federal government has been advised to use the latest tranche of $23m returned to the country by the US to settle the ongoing Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) industrial dispute that has crippled tertiary education since February.

Early this week, the US announced that it would be handing over a fresh sum of $23.4m to Nigeria, having seized the cash from an account opened by former military dictator General Sani Abacha. US ambassador to Nigeria Mary Leonard, said that with this latest tranche, the total amount of Abacha loot the US would have given to Nigeria now totals $334.7m.

Nigeria's Academic Staff Union of Universities (Asuu), has been on strike since February over working conditions and remuneration, forcing the closure of the country's universities. Asking the government to seek to kill two birds with one stone, Hon Dachung Musa Bagos, a member of the House of Representatives, has urged ministers to use the Abacha cash to address to issues raised by the lecturers.

One bone of contention for the academics is the non-payment of university revitalisation funds, amounting to about N1.1trn ($2.6bn).   While the government says it does not have enough funds to settle the lecturers, Hon Bagos, who represents Jos South/Jos East Federal Constituency, said they could start by spending the Abacha money.

Speaking on Channels Television’s Politics Today, yesterday, Hon Bagos said: “We have pressing needs like Asuu who have been on strike and the government is trying to settle those issues. As a representative of the people, if I have to argue where those funds should be channelled to on the floor, I will say why can’t you channel these funds to Asuu so that most of the youths that are at home would go back to school?

“This is my third year in the National Assembly, we have never discussed any of the recovered loot. We just sit down and we hear that the executive recovered loot and allotted the same to projects that they so desire.

“We believe that when we discuss these issues at the National Assembly, we appropriate those funds according to the needs of Nigeria. It is going to go a long way, not just the executive looking at it and allocating funds to where they feel it should be.”