Rinsola Abiola, a former aide to Yakubu Dogara, the immediate past speaker of the House of Representatives, has alleged that the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) opposed the passage of the Sexual Harassment in Tertiary Education Institution Prohibition Bill.
Abiola, who is also a daughter of the late Moshood Abiola, the presumed winner of the 1993 presidential election, made the allegation on Tuesday while responding to a post on Twitter by Bukola Saraki, the immediate past Senate president, on the issue of sexual harassment in Nigerian universities.
The tweets were posted following a documentary, entitled: “Sex For Grades”, published on Monday by the BBC Africa Eye team, which exposed Dr. Boniface Igbeneghu and Dr. Samuel Oladipo, two lecturers of the University of Lagos, engaging in flirtatious activities with students.
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In the wake of the video, Saraki urged President Muhaammadu Buhari and the ninth National Assembly to revisit and ensure the implementation of the aforementioned bill, noting that it was passed by the eighth assembly but did not receive presidential assent.
But according to Abiola, who served as Special Assistant to Dogara on New Media, ASUU objected to the bill, arguing that there was no evidence that sexual harassment was more prevalent in universities.
“It’s worthy of note that ASUU vehemently opposed this bill, claiming it’s discriminatory because it targets lecturers, it would diminish university autonomy and there’s no proof that sexual harassment in tertiary institutions is any worse than harassment elsewhere,” she tweeted.
Read Also: Another UNILAG Lecturer Exposed In #SexForGrades Video
Responding further to another Twitter user’s comment on the inability of President Muhammadu Buhari to sign the bill, reiterated her point, saying: “…the point at this moment is that ASUU – the lecturer union – kicked against it, distorting the constitution & arguing it happens everywhere so why single lecturers out? And that, sir, is shameful & makes them complicit.”
Read Also: #SexForGrades: Sign Sexual Harassment Prohibition Bill, Saraki Tells Buhari
Many Nigerians have criticised the academic union on social media for failing to issue a statement condemning sexual harassment , especially as two of its members were indicted in the video.
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