Nigerian public universities are now currently owed N660 billion by the Federal Government of Nigeria in Needs Assessment Intervention Fund, according to the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU).
The Zonal Coordinator of Ibadan Zone of ASUU and Chairman University of Ibadan Chapter of the Union, Professor Segun Ajiboye in a television interview gave the breakdown of the unpaid intervention fund for the year 2014 (N220billion), 2015 (N220billion) and 2016 (N220billion) which was part of the N1.3trillion intervention FGN/ASUU agreement signed in 2013.
On the 2016 proposed budget presented by President Muhammadu Buhari, the ASUU chief said he did not address how the government will fulfil the agreements reached with the union as the government was owing academic staff in the public universities more than N200 billion arrears of earned allowances for the 2014 and 2015 academic years.
He said the 2009 agreement which was due for a review in 2012 has not been addressed by the Federal Government adding that the union (ASUU) had written severally to the government on the need to start the renegotiation of the agreement to reflect modern and contemporary realities.