The Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) has accused the Central Bank of Nigeria under Godwin Emefiele and current governor Yemi Cardoso of failing to spend intervention funds for executing projects for public universities in Nigeria.
According to ASUU president, Emmanuel Osodeke who was speaking during an interview on Channels TV Inside Sources the CBN between June 2009 and February 2014 under Sanusi Lamido who Emir of Kano is currently, was the only time projects were carried in public universities.
“There are many companies today which they call cash cows; they have some reserve money for community development. CBN, NNPC and what have you.
“For a very long time that we have been having CBN governors, we never knew there was fund there that could be used in the university until the Emir of Kano, Sanusi, came in and decided to use the money the way it should be used.
“There’s no federal university today that you don’t have a project done by Sanusi regime when he was CBN governor because the fund was there. The biggest building in my university is CBN, go to the University of Abuja, CBN; go to Jos, everywhere, for the four years he was there before he was sacked but since another one came in, have you seen anything done in the university by CBN? Zero.”
Osodeke said if Godwin Emefiele and Olayemi Cardoso followed the footsteps of Sanusi, there wouldn’t be any infrastructural deficit in any public university in Nigeria.
“If what Sanusi did when he was CBN governor was followed by other CBN governors, we would not be talking about projects in universities, but the next one came and that is the end.
“There’s a new person there now and nobody is talking about that fund again; they call it (the fund) Community Social Responsibility, it’s there.
“So, we should ask you if the CBN governor is watching me: how did Emir Sanusi generate that money to put projects in all the federal and many state universities in this country within four years? How come Emefiele couldn’t put one anywhere? How come the present one has not even thought about that? How come all those who were there have not to do anything?
“He (Cardoso) is a year in office, has he done anything? Have you seen any project in any university?” he queried.
