The Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) has raised an alarm, warning that many Nigerian universities are nearing collapse due to the “unbearable cost of electricity.”
ASUU President, Prof. Emmanuel Osodeke, stated during the opening of a two-day national conference organized by the union in Abuja on Thursday that some universities face electricity bills ranging from N200 million to N300 million each month.
He revealed that despite the massive electricity bills, universities only receive N15 million monthly from the federal government to cover both electricity and other expenses.
He criticized the disparity, noting that while universities are allocated N15 million for all running costs, the government pays each Senator “N21 million per month.”
He stated, “The government provides N15 million to manage the entire university system, yet the electricity bill alone can reach N300 million. Where is the rest of the money supposed to come from? You still have to run the laboratories, buy diesel, and fuel the vehicles.
“Meanwhile, a government that allocates only N15 million to UNILAG for operations gives a single Senator N21 million a month. The system gets N15 million, while an individual receives N21 million. That shows where our priorities lie.”
