{"id":8313,"date":"2013-08-14T00:44:42","date_gmt":"2013-08-14T00:44:42","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/disnaija.com\/nigeria-news\/fg-cant-afford-n92bn-for-lecturers-says-okonjo-iweala\/"},"modified":"2013-08-14T00:44:42","modified_gmt":"2013-08-14T00:44:42","slug":"fg-cant-afford-n92bn-for-lecturers-says-okonjo-iweala","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/disnaija.com\/fg-cant-afford-n92bn-for-lecturers-says-okonjo-iweala\/","title":{"rendered":"FG Can\u2019t Afford N92bn for Lecturers, Says Okonjo-Iweala"},"content":{"rendered":"
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The ongoing nationwide industrial action by the\u00a0Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU)\u00a0may not end soon, as\u00a0Minister of Finance and Coordinating Minister of the Economy, Dr. (Mrs.) Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala has said that the Federal Government does not have the resources to meet the union\u2019s financial demands.<\/p>\n

\u00a0The minister disclosed this\u00a0on Tuesday\u00a0while speaking at the annual meeting of National Council on Finance and Economic Development in Minna, Niger State, themed, Restructuring Nigeria\u2019s Finances<\/em>.<\/p>\n

\u00a0According to Okonjo-Iweala, ASUU\u2019s demand for N92bn in extra allowances is not in line with government\u2019s current efforts at reviving the economy.<\/p>\n

\u00a0\u201cAs at the time I assumed office as Minister of Finance, the share of recurrent expenditure in our total budgets had increased astronomically,\u201d she said. \u201cIn fact, recurrent expenditures accounted for about 77.2 per cent of the federal budget and we are now working to re-balance this ratio.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u00a0Okonjo-Iweala reasoned that paying the lecturers\u2019 extra allowances would mean forfeiting infrastructural development in universities.<\/p>\n

\u00a0\u201cAt present, ASUU wants the government to pay N92bn in extra allowances when resources are not there and when we are working to integrate past increases in pensions.<\/p>\n

\u00a0\u201cWe need to make choices in this country as we are getting to the stage where recurrent expenditures take the bulk of our resources and people get paid but can do no work. If we continue to pay them salaries and allowances, we will not be able to provide infrastructure in the universities.\u201d<\/p>\n

Okonjo-Iweala\u2019s statement comes only a day after\u00a0Minister of Education, Ruqayyatu Rufa\u2019I expressed hope that the industrial action would soon be over, following a meeting of the task teams for the 2013 mid-term review of the four-year strategic plan for the development of the education sector.<\/p>\n

ASUU, meanwhile, has always maintained its resolve to continue with the strike action until\u00a0the Federal Government honours the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) both parties signed in 2009.<\/p>\n

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Posted in Nigeria News. <\/a>A DisNaija.Com<\/a> network.<\/p>\n

Source: Huhu Online<\/p>\n

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