ASUU Rejects Tax Reform Bill

The Yola Zone of the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) has rejected proposed Nigeria Tax Bill (NTB) 2024, calling on the National Assembly to equally reject it.

ASUU said the bill, when passed into law would steadily reduce funding available to the Tertiary Education Trust Fund (TETFund) from this year until the Fund is left completely without funding by the year 2030.

Coordinator of ASUU Yola Zone, Dani Mamman, said it is unacceptable that the proposed controversial NTB 2024 seeks to dismantle TETFund by allocating only 50 percent of the development levy to TETFund from 2025 to 2026, with the remaining half diverted to NITDA, NASENI and NELFUND.

The zone which comprises Adamawa State University (ADSU) Mubi, Modibbo Adama University (MAU) Yola, Federal University Gashua (FUGA), Taraba State University (TSU) Jalingo, University of Maiduguri (UNIMAID), and Yobe State University (YSU), Damaturu noted that the bill would eliminate TETFund and will cripple tertiary education.

The association said it could not accept the provision which further reduces TETFund’s share between 2027 and 2029 and 0% by 2030.

ASUU said it opposed “Replacing TETFund’s vital role with NELFUND such that by the year 2030 and beyond, TETFund will receive zero allocation from the development levy.”

The academic union added that TETFund has done so much to put infrastructure in universities and other tertiary institutions of learning, stressing that depriving it of funds may return such institutions to the bad state that they were which informed the creation of TETFund in the first place.

“Redirecting funds meant for TETFund to other agencies contradicts the TETFund Act 2011 and a gross misallocation of resources,” the union stressed.