Following the recent agreement between Nigerian and the United States of America (USA) on Tuesday, August 23, 2022 for the repatriation of $23,439,724 recovered funds said to have been looted by the late General Sani Abacha, a member of Nigeria House of Representatives has urged the Federal Government to use part of the loot to settle the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU).

A member of the House of Representatives; Dachung Musa Bagos, made the statement on Wednesday, August 24, 2022, while speaking on Channels Television’s Politics Today.

Recall that Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) embarked on strike on February 14, 2022 and among other things are demanding the full implementation of the 2009 agreement it signed with the Federal Government.

Meanwhile, the government says it does not have enough funds to settle the lecturers.

See: Governor David Umahi Addresses the Issue of ASUU Strike

Bagos, who represents Jos South/Jos East said,

“

We have pressing needs. Like now, ASUU has been on strike, and the government is trying to settle those issues.

As a representative of the people, if I have to argue where those funds should be channelled to on the floor, I will say, ‘Why can’t you channel this fund to ASUU so that most of the youths that are at home would go back to school?’

But some of the areas we feel that the executive is channelling those funds are not the immediate needs of Nigerians.”

He added,

“

This is my third year in the National Assembly, we have never discussed any of the recovered loot. We just sit down and we hear that the executive recovered loot and allotted the same to projects that they so desire.

We believe that when we discuss these issues at the National Assembly, we appropriate those funds according to the needs of Nigeria, it is going to go a long way; not just the executive looking at it and alloting it (the fund) to what they feel it should be. The constitution has given us that right.”