The chairman of the University of Ibadan chapter of the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU), Dr. Olusegun Ajiboye has said that Senate President, David Mark owes Deacon Gamaliel Onosode an apology.
Onosode, a former NNPC director was the leader of the Federal Government’s team of negotiators that was responsible for the 2009 agreement with ASUU.
Speaking at a chapter congress held at UI on Friday, Ajiboye said, “Onosode is a man of proven integrity, and impeccable character. He deserves better than the colour painted of him by the Senate President. The Congress respects the personality of Onosode, an alumnus of the University College Ibadan, who has served as the Chairman of governing councils of UI and University of Lagos and a successful businessman who has served the country in various intervention capacities.
“The congress condemns these disparaging comments and demands that the Senate President apologises to this elder statesman. Can we actually trust these characters to midwife any intervention with a bias and myopic construction myth makes right? Where else in the world are senators earning bogus allowances as we have in the National Assembly? We challenge the Revenue Allocation, Mobilisation and Fiscal Commission to publish salaries and allowance of the senate president for Nigerians to see how patriotic he is to the true state of the economy.”
The comments by David MArk that drew the criticism of ASUU were related to the Senate President’s belief that ASUU had taken advantage of the negotiating team in 2009.
Mark said the negotiating team led by Onosode “did not know their right from their left”, and this led to ASUU taking advantage of them.