The presidential candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Atiku Abubakar, has vowed to pay the backlog of salaries of the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) if elected as president in 2023.

Atiku said his administration will ensure ASUU members do not embark on strike, adding that he will increase the funding of education in the country.

The former Vice President said this at the ‘People’s Townhall’ series for presidential candidates and their running mates, organised by Channels Television on Sunday.

Speaking alongside his running mate and Delta State Governor, Ifeanyi Okowa, the PDP presidential candidate said: “I’m going to increase the funding of education as against what is currently obtained, no doubt about that because I am a firm and committed believer in education.

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“I have undertaken to say whatever backlog, we are going to clear all the backlogs and make sure that you go back to classes and students go back to school.”

Atiku further stated that when the Federal Government releases money for the universities, it does not go straight to the universities, adding that the funds are channelled through “another federal bureaucracy” that “might decide to do whatever they want” before the monies are sent to each university in the country.

“Why not remove the bottleneck? Whatever is due to university A, B, C, D, send it directly!” the former Vice President said.

He added: “As I’ve said, I’ve pledged to increase the funding of education as far as our budget is concerned.

“Sadly, we are not even meeting our counterparts in West Africa. They may be poorer than we are, but we are not spending as much, as far as the educational sector is concerned.”

The Star