The Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) has rejected the Federal Government’s Tertiary Institution Loan Scheme, describing it as an insult to tertiary workers and a mockery of the Nigerian university system.
The scheme, recently launched by the Ministry of Education, offers interest-free loans of up to N10 million to university workers, with a one-year moratorium and five-year repayment period.
Speaking in Uyo, ASUU Calabar Zonal Coordinator and Senior Lecturer at Ebonyi State University, Ikechuku Igwenyi, dismissed the initiative as a distraction. The zone covers eight universities, including the University of Calabar, University of Uyo, Ebonyi State University, and Abia State University.
Igwenyi questioned why government, which has refused to renegotiate a 17-year-old salary structure since 2012 and still owes arrears and deductions, would instead introduce “impossible and slavish loans” in a depressed economy.
He accused government of deceiving unions with repeated renegotiation panels, unimplemented agreements, and schemes like IPPIS, salary awards, and NELFUND. According to him, imposing loans on staff unions as guarantors further exposes government’s insincerity.
“No sensible worker goes for a loan for feeding and domestic expenses if adequately remunerated,” he said. “We therefore reject the Tertiary Institution Staff Support Loan and everything it represents because it is a poison chalice.”
He added that ASUU’s August 28, 2025, meeting with the Federal Government would be the last, stressing the union will not keep wasting resources on fruitless dialogues.