The Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) has accused Professor Abdul Hamid Ahmed, Katsina State Commissioner for Higher, Technical, and Vocational Education, of misinforming the government and the public about the financial situation at the state-owned Umaru Musa Yar’adua University.
Murtala Kwara, the chairman of ASUU at Umaru Musa Yar’adua University, responded to the commissioner’s recent press briefing on the university’s financial state.
Speaking to THE NATION in Katsina, Kwara stated that the commissioner misunderstood the university's financial operations, emphasizing that the institution does not generate revenue and lacks a designated source of income.
“Money collected from students is always designated for their respective purposes. For instance, money was collected for student ID cards, GST courses, and EDS. We are not a revenue-generating entity like government parastatals. I am not part of the university management, so I don’t know their relationship with the government,” Kwara explained.
Kwara stressed that the university is currently experiencing poor funding, with government-provided funds being grossly inadequate.
He urged the state government to address the university’s funding needs, stating, “All we know is that the university is currently experiencing poor funding. The money supplied by the government is grossly inadequate. They should do the needful. We are not crying wolf; we are always campaigning for proper funding for the university. It cannot thrive in the absence of adequate funding.”
The ASUU chairman further called on the state government to review the university’s overhead to enable the institution to meet its ever-expanding obligations.
He also criticized the commissioner for conflating ongoing minimum wage negotiations with the ASUU/FG September negotiations.
“ASUU/FG salary negotiations headed by the late Professor Nimi Briggs are different from current wage negotiations. All we are saying is to increase funding for UMYU and implement a new salary award,” Kwara clarified.
In his earlier briefing, the commissioner stated that the current monthly overhead of N7 million for Umaru Musa Yar’adua University was inherited from the previous administration and that the present administration did not reduce the overhead for the university or any other institution in the state.
“The administration received no complaints or requests to increase the university’s monthly overhead. Therefore, the union is raising concerns about the reduced and inadequate overhead, which the university management should address,” the commissioner said.