By Salejo Kano
The Kano Zone of the Academic Staff Union of Universities ASUU has opposed the tax Reform bill currently before the National Assembly.
It however called on the National Assembly and the National Economic Council NEC to use their Constitutional powers and stop the enactment of the bill into law.
The Kano Zonal Coordinator of Academic Staff Union of Universities ASUU Abdulqadir Muhammad made the call while briefing Journalists in Kano.
He said, the Zonal body of ASUU which compromised of six tertiary Institutions, viewed the move as a calculated plan by the federal government to abolish Tertiary Education Trust Fund (TETFUD) with a view to replace it with the newly established Nigerian Education Loan Fund (NELFUND).
He said, “ASUU notes, with serious concern, Section 59(3) of the Nigeria Tax Bill (NTB) 2024, which specifically states that only 50% of the Development Levy would be made available to TETFund in 2025 and 2026 while NITDA, NASENI, and NELFUND would share the remaining percentage.”
The arrangements according Muhammad, would make TETFund to receive “66.67% in 2027, 2028 and 2029 years of assessment” but “0% in 2030 year of assessment and thereafter”.
While highlighting achievements recorded by TETFUND, the ASUU Zonal Coordinator emphasized that, since its establishment, TETFund has been the most successful agency in terms of providing interventions to education sector.
According to him, “over the years, TETFund has been financing physical infrastructure, library development, research, staff training and development, conference attendance, manuscript development, among others, in Nigeria’s public tertiary institutions.”
Muhammad said, the impact of TETFund on campuses of public tertiary institution in Nigeria is glaring adding that, abolishing it will take public tertiary education back and subvert the gains in repositioning Nigerian public universities to meet global standard.
The ASUU Kano Zone called on well-meaning Nigerians and other stakeholders to prevail on the Federal Government of Nigeria to withdraw the proposed Tax reform bill “with immediate effect.”
“It is our humble view that, the current clandestine move to abrogate the TETFund Act 2011 is unpopular, anti-poor, unpatriotic and, certainly, it is going to be destructive to the survival of public tertiary education in Nigeria.” Muhammad explained.