Members of the Senior Staff Association of Nigerian Universities (SSANU) yesterday urged the Federal Government to discountenance last year's NEEDS Assessment reports.

The report recommended the reduction of the non-teaching staff in public universities.

SSANU said if the Federal Government implements the report, it might go on strike.

SSANU's National Vice President Comrade Alfred Jimoh spoke in Ilorin, Kwara State, at a lecture organised by its Western Zone.

He said: "The unemployment market in Nigeria may be witnessing another increase, if federal and state governments are deceived into laying off the non-teaching staff under the guise that they are not involved in 'core academic activities' and a ploy to 'halt' their so-called 'artificial growth in the system.'

"This lecture serves as part of the responses of the non-teaching staff to half truth/utter falsehood being celebrated and glorified as the best thing that has ever happened to the Nigerian public universities in the name of NEEDS Assessment Report."

Speaking on the topic, Public lecture on the report of the committee on NEEDS Assessment of Nigerian public universities, Federal University of Agriculture Chairman AbdulSobur O. Salam said the NEEDS committee's report had several flaws and errors.

He said: "While some could be traced to ignorance on the part of the committee; some other aspects are deliberately created to protect the academic staff in the system.

"We thus say that the purpose of the committee and its report have failed to 'objectively and robustly examine the critical human, material and infrastructural need-gaps within the public universities and come up with practical solutions.'

"For there to be a proper repositioning of the Nigerian public university system, the NEEDS committee report must be discarded by the Federal Government. If we have to return, re-energise and relocate our public universities to glory, the process must start with a serious NEEDS assessment, not a work that is deep with incurable congenital and acquired defects…"