The leadership of Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) has rejected what it described as the smuggling of Tertiary Education Trust Fund (TETFund) budgetary allocation into the 2024 Federal Government’s national annual budget.
ASUU President, Professor Emmanuel Osodeke, speaking on Thursday at the TETFund Alliance for Innovative Research (TETFAIR), Showcase and Closing Event held at Innov8 Technology Hub, Airport Road, Abuja, asked the Federal Government to stop undue interference with TETFund operations.
Osodeke who insisted that TETFund was established for a specific purpose of intervening in public tertiary institutions, asked the government to separate and remove the agency’s budget from the national budget to enable effective implementation.
He noted that TETFund was established in 1994, following recommendation by ASUU when the union was on strike and the Education Tax Act No7 of 1993 was promulgated by the then military regime alongside other education-related Decrees and that the Decree imposed a 2% tax on the assessable profits of all companies in Nigeria.
He said since then TETFund has been making visible impact wondering why for the first time, TETFund budget found its way into the national annual budget proposal presented recently by President Bola Ahmed Tinubu before the National Assembly.
Osodeke, who was speaking against the backdrop of suspicion that the national budget may not enjoy 100 per cent implementation, observed that strangely, for the first time, government decided to add TETFund’s budget to the national budget.
The ASUU president added that once TETTund’s budget is included in the national budget, “it is finished.”
He also called on Nigerians to deal with inferiority complex, which allows them to depend on services abroad, stating that every country in the world that wants to develop must use its ideas and use its people and those ideas are in the universities.
Osodeke decried continuous patronage of foreign goods and services by Nigerians even when they can be sourced locally.
He lamented that lecturers were yet to be paid their November salaries because of “technical glitches” with the Integrated Personnel Payroll and Information System (IPPIS), saying the alternative and better payment option, Universities Transparency and Accountability Solution (UTAS), developed by ASUU was rejected by the Government.
“In 2020 we were challenged to produce something better than IPPIS, it took us two months to produce it, UTA, which we have presented to National Assembly, to the House; then we said let’s test the two and IPPIS came last; but Nigeria insisted on using IPPIS.
“Every year, the Nigerian government pays $40 to a company in UK for paying me salary and you reject the one in your university. You want to do anything you run abroad,” he said.
While commending TETFund for the TETFAIR project, he assured that the men engaged in the scheme can solve Nigeria’s problems, stating that “we must come back home and use our ideas.”
Osodeke also warned against political interference in TETFund from authorities overseeing the ministry.
“Nigeria is in deep crisis. Our best brains whether in the academic or medical are leaving the country. Thousands of our colleagues, the good ones are leaving the country. Some are leaving to go and farm. We must rescue our country. Allow the money for universities go into universities,” he said.
Also speaking, the Minister of Labour, Hon Simon Lalong, who described the occasion as a celebration of the remarkable innovative achievements over the year, said the scheme serves as a platform for researchers and innovators to showcase their groundbreaking ideas to transform them into tangible solutions.
Lalong expressed confidence that the valuable experiences gained through the TETFAIR will empower Nigerian scholars to contribute significantly to their fields at home and internationally.
Earlier, the Executive Secretary of TETFund, Arc Sonny Echono, said the fair was organised to support researchers in universities to bring their innovative ideas to fruition.
While reiterating the importance of Nigeria transiting to a knowledge-based economy, Echono stated that the world has moved from a resource-rich economy to a knowledge-based one and Nigeria cannot afford to lag.
“TETFund, as the foremost interventionist agency in Nigeria’s Tertiary Education Sector has deepened its intervention in content-based programmes. The Fund is making conscious investments in support of research, innovation and development as it remains the most compelling strategy for accelerating sustainable growth.
“In our bid to promote the institutionalisation of R&D, we have sought effective support for impactful research and innovation through partnership between tertiary institutions/research institutes, industry and government as a national response towards technological
“Accordingly, the TETFAIR programme is the outcome of a fruitful collaboration between TETFund and Innov8 Technology Hub, an organization dedicated to the support and advancement of Innovation Start-up Incubation, Technology Transfer, Knowledge & Skill Impartation, Prototype Development, and Fabrication in Nigeria.
“TETFAIR is a year-long programme which provides a unique opportunity for our academics and researchers in Nigerian Universities to transform their ideas into market-driven solutions, including the development and fabrication of prototypes.
“Through the Initiative, selected teams of researchers and academic staff with promising ideas for innovative solutions in the programme’s areas of focus were supported via intensive in-person and online training. mentorship and provision of access to high-end technology / specialized machinery to bring their ideas to fruition,” he said.
On his part, the Minister of State for Education, Hon Yusuf Sununu, said the TETFAIR was not the only research effort being made towards national development, stating that Nigerian researchers were also engaged in multi-prong efforts, including the development of vaccines for preventable diseases in Usmanu Danfodiyo University, Sokoto.
Sununu called on TETFund to scale up copywrite ownership protection so that the innovators will not lose copywrite ownership of their products and services.
The minister also called for collaboration between academia and industry and other stakeholders to ensure marketability of the products churned out by the innovators.
In her remarks, the Chairman House Committee on Tertiary Education, Princess Miriam Onouha, expressed satisfaction with the level of research efforts put together by Nigerian academics through TETFund’s partnership with Innov8 Hub under the TETFAIR scheme.
Onouha expressed hope that gains made in the project will eventually help to address unemployment in the country while assuring that the legislature will provide the needed support to ensure success of the TETFAIR.
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