By PAMELA EBOH, Awka

The outgoing President of the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU), Prof Biodun Ogunyemi, has revealed that many of his members infected with Coronavirus were subjected to tackle the disease with resources from colleagues and other people of goodwill.

He said this was caused by the withholding of their salaries and emoluments, as well as the union’s check-off deductions by the Office of the Accountant-General of the Federation over the rejection of the controversial Integrated Personnel and Payroll Information System (IPPIS).

Ogunyemi stated this while delivering his valedictory speech at the 21st National Delegates Conference of the union held at the Nnamdi Azikiwe University, Awka, Anambra State on Friday.

While saying that other comrades suffered the same fate in the hands of overzealous State University Vice-Chancellors and Visitors, the outgoing ASUU president noted that “as a matter of fact, we lost at least 30 (members).

“In line with the provisions of our Constitution, we are here to review our activities in the last three years with a view to charting a new course at this critical juncture of our national life.

“As a point of departure, we must place on record that COVID-19 did not spare our campuses. Many of our infected members had had to combat the COVID attack with resources from colleagues and other people of goodwill because their salaries and emoluments, as well as the union’s check-off deductions, were withheld by the Office of the Accountant-General of the Federation over the rejection of the discredited Integrated Personnel and Payroll Information System

“In the last three years, ASUU has enjoyed tremendous goodwill from quarters too numerous to mention.”

Delivering a lecture titled, “State Terrorism and Nigeria’s Development”, Prof Akin Oyeboye of the Faculty of Law, University of Lagos, stressed that Nigeria was at a crossroad “caught in the vortex of variable contradictions, self doubt and hopelessness.”

In his speech, the Vice-Chancellor of UNIZIK, Prof Charles Esimone, described ASUU as the soul and conscience of the Nigerian University system.

Ogunyemi’s successor is expected to emerge on Sunday at the Awka conference.