The Academic Staff Union of Universities has condemned the directive of the National Universities Commissions to the Committee of Vice-Chancellors of Nigerian Universities that universities should be shut to enable students to participate in the forthcoming general elections.
It can be recalled that The National Universities Commission (NUC) had ordered universities across the country to shut down and suspend academic activities on February 22 and March 14 to enable students participate in the February 25 and March 11 general elections.
However, this did not go down well with some people as the National President of the academic staff union of Universities ASUU, Prof. Emmanuel Osodeke, explained that universities had never been shut down because of elections, He said added that “Vice-Chancellors do not have the right to close universities and It is purely the right of the universities’ Senates to either open or close universities.
But the Secretary-General, CVCNU, Prof. Yakubu Ochefu, disagreed with the ASUU President, saying Nigeria had always closed universities during elections.
He said, “It is nothing new, most public universities get closed during elections because many of them housed polling units and universities and their communities always vote on campuses.
Also speaking, the National President, Academic Staff Union of Polytechnics, Anderson Ezeibe, said the polytechnics regulatory body, National Board for Technical Education, had yet to come up with any directive.
CULLED FROM PUNCH
