MOUA Professor, Osodeke, Emerged New ASUU President

Daily Metro News NG

Professor Emmanuel Osodeke has being elected the new president of the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) on Sunday.

Prof. Osodeke, who is a senior lecturer at the Michael Okpara University of Agriculture, Abia was elected on Sunday during the national delegate conference of the union in Awka, the capital of Anambra State to pilot affairs of ASUU for another two years.

A consultant psychiatrist and associate professor at the College of Medicine, University of Jos, Chris Piwuna, was elected as his deputy.

Siji Sowande was elected as treasurer; Ade Adejumo emerge as ASUU’s financial secretary; Austen Sado as investment secretary; Adamu Babayo as an internal auditor, and Stella-Maris Okey as the welfare secretary.

Osodeke’s emergence follows the end of the tenure of Prof. Biodun Ogunyemi, who had served for two terms of four years as president of the Association.

Under Ogunyemi, ASUU embarked on a protracted strike over the non-implementation of agreements reached with the federal government in 2009.

He raised concerns about earned academic allowances (EAA) and funding.

Amid the strike, which started in March and ended in December 2020, Ogunyemi also opposed the adoption of the Integrated Payroll and Personnel Information System (IPPIS) while backing an alternative payroll software.

In his parting remarks, Prof. Ogunyemi said; “ASUU is struggling to ensure that the children of the poor, who cannot afford the prohibitive cost paid in private universities or do not have opportunities to study outside Nigeria, get quality education

“This will only happen when FG adequately funds public universities and addresses the rot and decay in them.”