The Academic Staff Union of Universities, ASUU, has asked the Accountant-General of the Federation, AGF, Ahmed Idris, to explain how he acquired some multi-billion naira properties in Kano State.
The ASUU’s Bauchi zone coordinator, Prof. Lawan Abubakar, in a statement on Wednesday, sought the AGF’s explanation on how he bought Sokoto Hotel in Kano at the sum of N500million and ordered for its immediate demolition to build a multi-billion naira shopping mall.
The union confirmed that the project is ongoing.
The university lecturers also asked the AGF to account for the money he used in acquiring multi-billion naira Gezawa Commodity Market and Exchange.
The ASUU said: “We would want Gentlemen of the Press to assist us in the conduct of two Investigations.
“The first is to uncover who bought the version of the Sokoto Hotel in Kano with a swooping sum of N500m, cash down, and demolished it the next day for an on-going development of a multi-billion Naira Shopping Mall.
“How and where did he or she get money for such investment?”
“The second assignment is to assist uncover who is hiding to invest multi-billion Naira in the Gezawa Commodity Market and Exchange.
“How and where did he or she get money for such investment?”
On the ongoing strike, Mr Abubakar blamed the AGF and the Minister of Labour and Employment, Chris Ngige, for impeding resolution of the industrial action.
According to the union, the duo has “continued to throw spanners in the wheel of progress of the concerted efforts, aimed at amicable resolution of its disagreement with federal government.”
He also alleged that the AGF insisted on Integrated Payroll and Personnel Information System, IPPIS, in order to gain N16,000 per enrollment of each of the academic staff of universities on the salary payment platform.
“While the Minister of Labour and Employment has continued to exhibit all manners of antics and insisting that government does not have the money to responsibly educate its citizens, the AGF has continued to greedily and selfishly count on the gains of N16,000 per enrollment of each academic staff he would have made.
“Thereby insisting that ASUU members be enrolled on the only payment platform he has now, Integrated Payroll and Personnel Information System, IPPIS,” said the coordinator.
The coordinator further alleged that the union had discovered that the AGF “is assiduously working for his retirement benefits, becoming the next governor of Kano State in addition to other financial gains already mentioned.”
Mr Abubakar, therefore, warned that all the AGF’s ambition would fail if he does not assist the government to honour and actualize the promises it made to ASUU and the Nigerian university system.
He stressed that ASUU is not asking the Federal Government to give it money, rather to honour the truce reached on February 7, 2019, tagged, ASUU/FGN Memorandum of Action, bordering on finances to develop university education in Nigeria.
He, therefore, called on students, parents and general public to join forces with the union in the struggle to emancipate the country’s university education system by insisting that the government commit resources to adequately fund the system.
The AGF did not respond to DAILY NIGERIAN call and text message seeking his response on the matter.
