The Academic Staff Union of Universities, Federal University Gusau chapter, has called on the President Bola Tinubu administration to honour the 2009 agreement with the federal government on university funding.

The chapter, which joined the nationwide peaceful demonstration, urged the government to ensure effective university funding and improved incentives for academic staff across the country.

The protesters carried placards with slogans such as ‘Fund Education, Secure the Future, Honour Agreement, Pay Us’, ‘Justice for ASUU Now or Never’, ‘Unions United for Education Rights’, and ‘Education is a Right, not a Privilege’.

The ASUU FUGUS protest, held peacefully within the university premises, sent a strong message urging the government to respect the 2009 pact or risk industrial action.

Addressing journalists, the chapter chairman, Dr Abdulraman Adamu, expressed concern over the government’s neglect of university funding and its reliance on TETFUND, while staff endured hardship and neglect.

He revealed that the government owed academic staff three and a half months’ salaries from the 2020 strike period, in addition to unpaid promotion arrears and wage awards.

Also speaking, the vice-chancellor, Abubakar Muazu, lamented the worsening state of universities and appealed to both ASUU and the government to resolve issues in the students’ best interests.

(NAN)