The Academic Staff Union of Universities has warned that it will resort to strike action if the proposed tax reform bill is passed, particularly due to its provisions affecting tertiary education institutions.
The Nigeria Tax Reform Bill 2024, currently before the National Assembly, includes a crucial section (Section 59 (3)) that outlines how the Development Levy, which currently supports TETFund, will be redistributed from 2025.
The bill proposes that in 2025 and 2026, TETFund will receive 50 percent of the levy, with NITDA, NASENI, and NELFUND splitting the rest. However, by 2030, NELFUND is slated to receive 100 percent of the levy, leaving TETFund, NASENI, and NITDA without funding.
In an interview with The PUNCH, ASUU’s National President, Prof. Emmanuel Osodeke, expressed grave concerns over the bill, asserting that its implementation would lead to the collapse of Nigeria’s public universities, polytechnics, and colleges of education.
He emphasized that TETFund is currently the only source of funding for these institutions, and if the bill is passed, it will render ASUU’s efforts in securing funding for higher education futile.
Osodeke declared, “If the tax reform bill is implemented, all Nigerian public universities, polytechnics, and colleges of education will collapse because the bill intends to scrap TETFund by 2030, which is the only source of funding for tertiary institutions. This also means that all of ASUU’s efforts over the years on TETFund will be in vain and we will not allow that to happen, we are ready to fight the reform with strikes, we are ready for the government on this. This is why we are saying we cannot allow our universities to be destroyed the way public primary and secondary schools were destroyed.”
The National President of the Senior Staff Association of Nigerian Universities who was recently re-elected, Mr. Mohammed Ibrahim, also voiced his opposition to the tax reform bill. He pointed out that without TETFund, many universities would be unable to provide basic facilities and may even close down.
“Regarding the tax reform bill, we are not in support of it. The government should conduct broader consultations and seek input from experts. This bill aims to phase out TETFund, but our universities currently rely heavily on TETFund for survival. No university today can claim to conveniently pay its electricity bills. The government needs to move beyond rhetoric and address the realities on the ground if they genuinely want to impart knowledge to citizens and ensure the continued existence of public tertiary institutions.”
Ibrahim also highlighted the financial struggles of university workers, noting that his members are enduring hardship due to unpaid salaries.
“Challenges keep arising; if it’s not striking, it’s dilapidated structures, insecurity, insufficient funding, or hikes in student fees. With reduced funding, universities will struggle to survive. We have not received our November salary due to the migration from IPPIS to GIFMIS. The Federal Government now uses GIFMIS, and we were supposed to transition with our November salary. However, universities operated by the Federal Government were instructed to handle payroll and obtain payments from the government. Workers are suffering, and the issue lies entirely with the Office of the Accountant General,” he stated.
