By OLUSEYE OJO, Ibadan

Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) has asked the Accountant-General of the Federation (AGF), Ahmed Idris, to resign over alleged gross incompetence based on a purported non-remittance of deductions made in the salaries of lecturers for January 2020.

Zonal Coordinator of the union, Dr Ade Adejumo, and chairman of the union in the University of Ibadan, Prof. Ayo Akinwole, in a statement made available to journalists in Ibadan, Oyo State capital on Thursday, argued that the failure of the accountant-general to release or remit deductions of university workers’ salaries for the month of January, three weeks after payment of their salaries was a deliberate plan to make university staff suffer.

They described the AGF as not only wicked and fraudulent, but a calculated attempt to unduly punish devoted university staff and make them vulnerable in a country that anything under the present government barely works.

While demanding an immediate release of the withheld deductions, ASUU stated that the welfare of its members will not be mortgaged for anything.

ASUU then stated that the office of the accountant general needs refocusing and overhauling following several unanswered queries over IPPIS fund to the office by the National Assembly.

“The AGF should resign with immediate effect for gross incompetence and abuse of office for his failure to release all the deductions from university workers’ salaries for the month of January. All deductions including cooperatives, levies, bank loans and check off are still being withheld three weeks after the payment of January salaries.

“This wicked action by the office of the AGF has created an undue hardship on the workers who are involved in the cooperative societies and other schemes through direct deductions from their salaries.

“We demand the immediate release of the seized fund with interests and the resignation of the AGF. There is an urgent need to overhaul and refocus the office of the accountant-general to be able to serve the nation better than it is currently doing.” (The Sun)