By Adeleye Kunle
Alhaji Atiku Abubakar, former Vice President and Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) presidential candidate for the 2023 general election, has stated that he will not hand over federal universities to states, explaining that education remains on the concurrent list.
According to a statement issued by his media aide, Paul Ibe, what Atiku said during the plenary session of the 62nd annual conference of the Nigerian Bar Association regarding education and how to address the crisis in the sector was misinterpreted and quoted out of context.
According to a statement from Atiku’s media office, “For the avoidance of doubt, Atiku did not say that if elected president in February next year, he will hand over federal universities to state governments.”
“The report is false, untrue, and unfounded, and it does not accurately reflect what Atiku Abubakar said in response to a question about devolution of powers, which is a key component of his policy framework.”
“What the PDP presidential candidate referred to was his plans for a phased devolution of power to the federating units,” according to the statement.
“As a result, the report in some sections of the media is a misleading and false account of what happened when the PDP Presidential candidate fielded questions as a panelist at the NBA conference’s opening ceremony.”
“In answering the question posed to him, Atiku Abubakar simply recalled his engagement with a university professor where he argued that the United States of America shared similarities with the first set of universities in Nigeria which belonged to regional governments and noted that with proper planning and phased devolution of power, federal universities that have now become unwieldy could be made t
“He also insisted that education would remain on the concurrent list if he were elected.”
“The report was clearly a misleading one designed to cast aspersion on the person of the former Vice President and to create the impression that he will shirk his responsibilities if he is elected president in the next presidential election due in February 2023,” according to the Atiku media office.
“We would like to reaffirm Atiku Abubakar’s stated commitment to education as a game changer for socioeconomic development and national security.” He remains concerned about the prolonged strike by university teachers and reiterates his position that the ASUU-FG squabble will be better managed under his watch in the interests of both students and academic staff.
“To emphasize his commitment to addressing structural deformities in our system, the former vice president also revealed that he had appointed a committee of judiciary experts to draft a presidential position paper that will guide his administration, if elected, from day one on the terms and conditions of transfer of power and resources to the other layers of government aimed at making the federal government leaner and more effective in its core functions.”
“We implore media organizations to be wary of unfounded stories while carrying out their constitutionally guaranteed responsibility of informing, educating, and entertaining the public,” said the former vice president’s media office.
