ASUU Urges Members Not To Obtain Loan Under TISSF

By Ayodele Oni

The Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) has rejected the Tertiary Institutions Support Fund, (TISSF) loan scheme floated for universities by the federal government

The union urged the Federal Government to delist it from the Tertiary Institutions Staff Support Fund (TISSF) loan scheme and opted for fresh protests over unresolved demands.

In a communiqué issued after its National Executive Council (NEC) meeting, signed by its president, Christopher Piwuna, ASUU described its inclusion in the scheme as a ploy by the government to conscript it as a “guarantor of loans it knows nothing about.”

The communiqué stated, “NEC resolved to reject the ploy to conscript ASUU as ‘guarantor’ of loans the union knows nothing about and demands that ASUU be delisted from the process.”

The union insisted that the government should release the “withheld three and a half months’ salaries of its members,” rather than offer loans.

ASUU also resolved to embark on nationwide protests, accusing the government of being slow in addressing outstanding issues.

The communiqué noted that “NEC discussed the state of the struggle and the government’s slow pace in addressing the issues in contention.

“Consequently, NEC resolved to organise protests across all the branches simultaneously on a fixed date.”

The union’s outstanding demands include the renegotiation of the 2009 FGN-ASUU agreement, as well as issues related to funding, university autonomy, and academic freedom.