President Bola Tinubu has declared the cancellation of the controversial 40% automatic deduction from the Internally Generated Revenues (IGR) of federal universities. The announcement was made during the 75th Founder's Day ceremony at the University of Ibadan, where Tinubu, represented by the Minister of Education, Tahir Mamman, expressed concerns about the policy's timing and its impact on struggling universities.
The decision was met with approval from various quarters, including the Lagos Zonal Coordinator of the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU), Adelaja Odukoya.
However, it followed earlier condemnation from the Chancellor of the University of Ibadan, Sultan of Sokoto, Sa’adu Abubakar, who pleaded for the reversal of the policy, citing potential threats to the university system.
The controversial policy, outlined in a leaked memo from the Nigerian government, proposed the automatic deduction of 40% of universities' IGR via the Treasury Single Accounts (TSA).
The National President of ASUU, Emmanuel Osodeke, questioned the definition of IGR for universities globally and labeled the move an attempt to "strangle the poor." Other stakeholders, including SSANU and CONUA, vehemently opposed the policy, highlighting its potential destabilizing effect on the already financially strained education system.
