The Committee of Pro-Chancellors of State-owned Universities (COPSUN) has described the remarks by the President of the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU), Professor Emmanuel Sodeke, referring to state-owned universities as “irrelevant and quacks” as insulting, contemptuous and unbecoming for President of ASUU.
COPSUN in a statement signed by its secretary, Marcus Awobifa and made available to Tribune Online on Monday in Abuja, said state universities cannot be forced or coerced to implement agreements reached between the Federal Government and her workers in the Universities to which they are not parties.
COPSUN said it is time to respect the Federal nature of government in all matters and not selectively, especially on the issues of salaries and wages.
“The Committee of Pro-Chancellors of State-owned Universities read with alarm and disbelieve a statement made by the President of the ASUU Prof. Emmanuel Osodoke on a television programme on Arise, where he said that state Universities are “irrelevant and quack” on 26th August 2022.
“Our first reaction was to ignore this tendentious, ill-conceived and flagrant unconscionable statement by the President of ASUU, but on reflection, it was thought necessary to do a rejoinder to this rather unfortunate statement having regard to the position of the President of ASUU in the scheme of things in our University system in Nigeria.
“That the Pro-Chancellors of our State Universities and indeed members of the Councils are distinguished and accomplished eminent persons who had served and still serving this nation in many capacities.
“Amongst the members are retired Ambassadors, retired Generals in the
Armed forces, retired Vice-Chancellors, Senior Advocates of Nigeria, renowned politicians and other distinguished professionals. It is therefore insulting, contemptuous and unbecoming for the President of ASUU to state that these esteemed individuals are presiding over quack and inconsequential Universities.
According to COPSUN, there is a need for immediate democratisation of the membership of unions in the universities to the extent of the freedom of any individual to belong to a union with options of not belonging. It also called for devolution of powers on the issues of labour, wages and salaries with freedom of the employers to negotiate with their employees as it is practised in other parts of the world where the Nigerian University system is borrowed from.
“COPSUN believes that this is an auspicious time for ASUU to creatively work with all stakeholders to tinker out a compromise that will bring back to the campuses the young men and women who have been insensitively thrown out of the universities for the last six months.
”COPSUN wishes to appeal to the President of ASUU to realise that the membership of ASUU is voluntary. Therefore, it is not his ill-informed approach and denigration of state universities that will lead to fashioning out creative approaches to avoid existential extinction that will solve the myriad of problems confronting the University system in Nigeria,” the statement added.
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