The Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) Bauchi State Zone has called on its members to distance themselves from the so-called Federal Government Tertiary Institutions Staff Support Fund (TISSF).

The ASUU Bauchi Zone comprises of Abubakar Tafawa Balewa University, Sa’adu Zungur University, Bauchi, University of Jos, Platuea State University, Platuea, Federal University of Kashere and Gombe State University respectively.

The call was made by the Zonal Coordinator, Bauchi Zone, Namo Timothy Aku, during a press conference with journalists. He said the loan is nothing but a debt trap aimed at enslaving them and their children and destroying the cooperative societies that are the lifewire of the workforce in universities.

He said ASUU acknowledged that the federal government had launched a program tagged “Tertiary Institutions Staff Support Fund (TISSF),” which claims to provide funds to support university staff in building houses, healthcare, clothing, food, payment of school fees, and self-empowerment training.

However, ASUU described the program as a debt trap, stating that the government’s requirement for ASUU to guarantee members’ access to the loan is unacceptable. The union also questioned the terms and conditions of the loan, which are not explicitly defined.