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The president Academic Staff Union of Universities, ASUU, Prof. Emmanuel Osodeke has said he never said state universities are quacks.
The ASUU president said this while speaking on Politics Today, Channels TV on Tuesday.
He said, “What I said was very clear. The person on the seat asked me a question that your members in three universities have abandoned you and I gave them that LASU, we have a problem with them and because the universities sacked all the leaders of ASUU in the branch.
“That’s why they are not on strike; that in KWASU they are not even our members yet and they are not meeting the standard and that in Osun they were punished for breaking our strike and they are all part of the problem.
“That’s exactly what I said and therefore our union there is not running well. That’s why I used that word, they are not running well. That the universities are not allowing our union to run well. I didn’t say state universities. Then I mentioned three again; Ekiti State University, Kaduna State University and Yobe State University.
“In those universities, although the management and the government have forced universities to announce resumption, our members said they are not teaching. That’s what I said at those three universities, but I’m surprised that they are busy writing all sorts of things. That’s exactly the word I used,” he said.
He further stated “We are in a place in Nigeria where journalism people do all sorts of things. My appearance at Arise TV was very clear. It wasn’t a secret.
“When I finished the person, Abati now said, “Do you mean that those do not matter?
And when he used ‘those,’ my impression of those ‘those’ are those three universities he mentioned and said yes because they are not there. If you are not doing what is correct, what do you represent in your profession?
“So, I didn’t say state universities but a group of the media have gone to say that the President of ASUU says three universities are quacks. I never used that word.
“ASUU does not run universities. Every university can announce its resumption. We didn’t close universities. No instance where ASUU said universities should close down. You can be open and members say they will not teach. That’s a strike.
“In Ekiti, the vice chancellor went to call a meeting on Saturday, it’s not a working day, connected with the lecturers, the deans and HODs, that body is not an organ of a university anywhere, to call for a meeting and announce resumption. It’s the senate of the university that announces resumption.
“That is the standard, so they should know that what they are doing is not correct. It’s the senate of the university that has the right by the law to announce resumption, not a committee called on a Saturday by VC. In some universities they say they are doing exams, they just pick old questions and start sharing questions,” he said.
