Presidential candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party, Atiku Abubakar has hinted that when elected as president in 2023, he will hand over all federal Universities to their respective state of residence. Atiku made this statement while delivering a speech at the Nigerian Bar Association, NBA, and annual General conference organized in Lagos for the year 2022. The former vice president disclosed, that it has always been his wish to provide an enabling environment for both foreign and local investors so that people can grow naturally.
Another social institution that Atiku pledged to reform after education is healthcare, saying government alone cannot bring needed development that is required in a country like Nigeria.
Delivering his statement, Atiku said, “One of the fundamental reforms I have in my policy document is to encourage the private sector as far as the development of the country is concerned — both foreign and local. It is very essential because the federal government does not have the resources to do all the things that they want to do,”
He explained “The only way is to make sure that a conducive environment is available for the local and foreign investors to participate in the development of our country, whether it is infrastructure, education, and healthcare.
Narrating an encounter with an academician, Atiku said “I had an argument with a university professor from Federal University, Lokoja.
He said he read in my policy document that I intend to devolve, in other words, to return education to the states. How dare I do that?
“I said: ‘Mr. Professor, do you realize that the first set of our universities belongs to the regional governments?’ He said, ‘yes’. I said ‘who are the successors of the regional government?’ He said: ‘the states’.
“I said the children you send to America or England, who own those universities? Mostly the private sector. So, why is it that you think we cannot do it here? We don’t have the money.”
Nigerian Universities have been under lock and key courtesy of the Academic Staff Union of the Nigerian Universities, ASUU after the Federal Government insisted that they should join IPPIS, a payment platform that the academicians says is short-changing them.
There has been a divergent view from the general public on whether ASUU or the federal government was right for allowing the public institution to be under lock and key for such a long time.