Dachung Musa Bagos a member of the House of Representatives has requested the Federal Government to use some of the recently returned Abacha loot, which totals $23,439,724 million, to pay the Academic Staff Union of Universities.
Remember that Nigeria and the USA announced a deal on Tuesday to repatriate $23,439,724 in funds that were allegedly looted by the late General Sani Abacha.
Since February 14, 2022, ASUU has been on strike over enhanced welfare, revitalizing public universities among other things.
All attempts by the government to get the union to call off the strike have been successful, one point of discontent for academics is the non-payment of university revitalization funds, which total approximately N1.1 trillion.
Bagos, who represents Jos South/Jos East, questions why the new Abacha loot should not be utilized to settle ASUU when the government claims it does not have enough money to pay the academics.
Discussing politics on Channels Television on Wednesday, Bagos said, “We have pressing needs. Like now, ASUU has been on strike, and the government is trying to settle those issues.
“As a representative of the people, if I have to argue where those funds should be channelled to on the floor, I will say, ‘Why can’t you channel this fund to ASUU so that most of the youths that are at home would go back to school?’ But some of the areas we feel that the executive is channelling those funds are not the immediate needs of Nigerians.”
He added, “This is my third year in the National Assembly, we have never discussed any of the recovered loot. We just sit down and we hear that the executive recovered loot and allotted the same to projects that they so desire.
“We believe that when we discuss these issues at the National Assembly, we appropriate those funds according to the needs of Nigeria, it is going to go a long way; not just the executive looking at it and alloting it (the fund) to what they feel it should be. The constitution has given us that right.”
