Atiku denies saying he will handover Federal Universities to state governments
The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) presidential candidate, Atiku Abubakar has denied comments attributed to him to the effect that he would hand over federal universities to states if elected president in 2023.
This was contained in a statement signed by his Media Adviser, Mazi Paul Ibe, which was made available to the media via email, on Monday night.
Recall, that Alhaji Atiku Abubakar, has said he will hand over Federal Government-owned universities to state governments after he assumes power on Monday, August 22, 2022.
He stated that as a panellist at the 2022 Nigerian Bar Association’s Annual General Conference held at the Eko Atlantic City in Lagos State.
Ibe dismissed what he described as the mischievous misinterpretation of what Atiku said at the NBA conference as it relates to education and how to address the crisis in the sector.
He said, “For the avoidance of doubt, Atiku did not say that he will handover Federal Universities to state governments if he is elected president come February next year.
“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.
“In answering the question posed to him, Atiku Abubakar merely recalled his engagement with a university professor where he argued that the United States of America shared similarities with the first set of universities in Nigeria which belonged to the regional governments and noted that with proper planning and phased devolution of power, federal universities that have now become unwieldy could be made to work better under the component federating units.
“He also maintained that education would remain in the concurrent list under his administration when elected.“
Source: intelregion
