There’ll be no strike in universities under Tinubu – Aide

The Senior Special Assistant to President Bola Tinubu on Students’ Engagement, Comrade Sunday Asefon, has declared that under the President’s administration, Nigerian universities will not be shut down as a result of strikes.

One of the major fears surrounding public university education in Nigeria has been the frequent strikes that disrupt the academic calendar due to disagreements between various university unions and the Federal Government.

These disputes have often resulted in prolonged shutdowns, particularly by the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU), with some strikes lasting for an entire academic session.

According to the Presidential Aide, that era is now in the past because President Tinubu has kept all his campaign promises to the education sector and the student community in Nigeria.

Asefon, who spoke in Port Harcourt during the Renewed Hope Student Leaders Engagement and Capacity Building programme, said the aim was to enlighten Nigerian students about the many initiatives being put in place by the Federal Government for their benefit.

He cited Tinubu’s reforms and policies in the education sector—particularly the student loan scheme, increased budgetary allocation, and approval for the upgrade of schools across the country—as evidence of his commitment to Nigerian students.

Asefon assured that under President Tinubu, there will be no shutdown of universities due to lecturers’ strikes, attributing this to the administration’s robust reforms in the sector.

He said: “The President has removed universities from IPPIS. Today, they have the capacity to employ and to do whatever they want to do. The 20 percent deduction from their Internally Generated Revenue has also been stopped, so universities are getting more funds.

“This is the first time in the history of this country that ₦5.2 trillion was budgeted for education. It has never happened before. The President prioritises education, which is why he can allocate such an amount to the sector.

“The President has fulfilled his campaign promises to us as Nigerian students. NELFUND is part of those promises and, barely three months after he was sworn in, he officially launched it. It shows his commitment to Nigerian students—he’s a promise keeper.”

Asefon, a former National President of the National Association of Nigerian Students (NANS), lamented that many students were not taking advantage of the various initiatives provided by ministries and government agencies—such as the Ministries of Education, Youth, Science and Innovation; NELFUND; and the Petroleum Development Trust Fund (PTDF)—to improve their lives.

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He said the engagement aimed to bridge the gap between the student community and policymakers.

“From my interactions with agencies, I discovered that there are many opportunities for Nigerian students in these MDAs and ministries, but they are yet to be tapped because of lack of awareness. This programme gives students the opportunity to engage one-on-one with representatives of MDAs and NELFUND, and it is expected that they will go back and share this information with their peers,” he said.

He called on students to be proactive in checking the media platforms of government agencies for opportunities and taking advantage of them.

Asefon also dismissed insinuations that the engagement, meant for student leaders from the South-South geo-political zone, had a political undertone.

“We are not here for campaign purposes. We are here to inform them and amplify Mr President’s empowerment initiatives in education and the youth sector. That’s why all the representatives of the MDAs are here—to tell students about opportunities in their ministries that they can benefit from,” he stated.

Managing Director of the Nigerian Education Loan Fund (NELFUND), Mr Akintunde Sawyer, also addressed misconceptions about the student loan scheme, emphasising that it is transparent and accessible.

He revealed that about 400,000 students are currently benefitting from the loan.

Sawyer explained that while the institutional loan is paid directly into the students’ school accounts, the upkeep loan is paid into their personal accounts, and both are repayable.

“So far, we have had 760,000 Nigerians register for this loan. Over 745,000 have applied successfully, and just over 400,000 students are benefitting from it. Their school fees at the tertiary level are being paid, and some who applied for the upkeep allowance are receiving ₦20,000 monthly for the session. We have disbursed over ₦80 billion to Nigerian institutions and students so far,” he said.

He encouraged students to take advantage of the loan facility to ease the financial burden on themselves and their parents.

Also speaking, Mr Emmanuel Essien, a Director at the Ministry of Youth Development who represented the Minister of Youth, Ayodele Olawande, and Mr David Atuwo, Special Adviser (Technical) to the Minister of Education, Dr Maruf Tunji Alausa, outlined various ministry initiatives for students and youths, urging them to leverage the programmes while in school.

They also commended the SSA to the President on Students’ Engagement for organising the programme.

“Most times, students in higher institutions are left out of empowerment programmes. I commend the SSA on Students’ Engagement for this wonderful initiative. We believe it will spread because our young people need to know what the government is doing. There are so many opportunities being provided for the youth,” Essien remarked.