2023: Atiku Denies Plans To Hand Over Federal Universities To States

The Presidential Candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Alhaji Atiku Abubakar, has denied claims credited to him that he plans to hand over federal universities to state governments if elected president in 2023.

This is contained in a statement by his media Adviser, Paul Ibe, issued to newsmen on Monday night in Abuja.

Ibe said that they had noticed with dismay the mischievous misinterpretation of what Abubakar said at the plenary of the 62nd annual conference of the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA) as it related to education and how to address the crisis in the sector.

“The report is false, untrue, unfounded and not a true reflection of what Atiku Abubakar said while responding to a question on devolution of powers, 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.

“The report in some sections of the media is, therefore, a misleading and false account of what transpired when the PDP presidential candidate fielded questions as a panelist at the opening ceremony of the NBA conference,” Ibe said.

He said that in answering the question posed to him, Abubakar merely recalled his engagement with a university professor.

“Abubakar argued that the United States of America shared similarities with the first set of universities in Nigeria which belonged to the regional governments.

He added that with proper planning and phased devolution of power, federal universities which have now become unwieldy can be made to work better under the component federating units.

“Abubakar also maintained that education would remain in the concurrent list under his administration when elected,” Ibe said.

The aide argued that the report was fabricated to cast aspersion on the person of the former vice president.

“We wish to restate Abubakar’s avowed commitment to education as a game changer for socio-economic development and national security.

“He remains concerned about the prolonged strike by university teachers.

The statement adds that if Atiku is elected as President, the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) – Federal Government imbroglio will be better managed in the interest of both the students and academic staff.