Atiku Abubakar
The Academic Staff Union of Universities, ASUU, has described as fake, a report that claimed it has endorsed the Presidential candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, Atiku Abubakar for president, Vanguard has reported.
ASUU made its position known in a statement signed by the chairmen of the union’s branch in Ogun state university and those of the Federal University of Agriculture, Abeokuta (FUNAAB), Tai Solarin University of Education (TASUED), Ijagun, and the Olabisi Onabanjo University (OOU), Ago-Iwoye.
According to ASUU, the said report is a “fabrication, completely nonexistent and a figment of (the) imagination of the newspaper reporter.”
It explained that its body is national and as such, takes decision unilaterally and not what a report claims that its faction in a university took a decision.
It was reacting to a report by an online portal (Not Vanguard) which claimed that ASUU’s leadership in Ogun State met with the former governor of the state, Gbenga Daniel at his house where the union threw its weight behind Atiku Abubakar.
But ASUU said that it “has no part in the said meeting where the resolution was made and also disclaims the involvement of ASUU in the said resolution.”
The statement partly reads thus:
“Our attention has been drawn to a news item (newspaper’s name withheld) of Wednesday, February 6, 2019, titled; “#NigeriaDecides: Ogun ASUU, Academics Pledge Support For Atiku.”
“The said article claimed that members of ASUU along with other stakeholders in the educational sector resolved to work, canvass and mobilise in support of the presidential candidate of the PDP, Atiku Abubakar to ensure his election in the forthcoming presidential election in February.
“In refuting the involvement of ASUU in the said resolution, we wish to state the following that: ASUU does not operate along the state divide. Therefore, there is no Ogun ASUU, just as there is no ASUU for other states. Our union has a national charter with branches in universities.
“Whilst respecting the interest of individual academics and their political leanings, our union wishes to state categorically that ASUU has no part in the said meeting where the resolution was made and also disclaims the involvement of ASUU in the said resolution.
“ASUU views the use of its name in the newspaper item as a deliberate mischief by the newspaper correspondent who is aware that ASUU has branch executives in each of the public university in Ogun State, and should have verified the news item before publishing.
“For the avoidance of doubt, ASUU states unequivocally that at no time were any of its representatives involved in any political gathering where support was declared for any political party or candidate.
“We, therefore, dissociate ourselves from this extant Tribune Online news and any such mischievous news item. We call on the public to be wary of such news with the intrinsic frivolity and cheap attempt to ride on our Union’s integrity.”
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