Skip to main content

ASUU STRIKE ENTERS 196th DAY, UNION REVEALS DECISION TODAY

A meeting of the National Executive Council of the striking Academic Staff Union of Universities started in Abuja on Sunday, The PUNCH reports.

The union is expected to take a final decision on whether to continue its industrial action that entered the 196th day on Monday (today) at the meeting holding at its national headquarters at the University of Abuja.

As of the time of filing this report on Sunday evening, the meeting was still ongoing amidst anxiety that the union may extend the strike based on the outcomes of the meetings of most of its branches held last week.

ASUU had declared the commencement of a strike on Monday, February 14, 2022, at the University of Lagos.

A member of the NEC, who did not want his name in print because he is not the union’s spokesman, told our correspondent in Abuja noted that most local congresses voted for strike extension.

“We expect nothing less. Most of the congresses voted for an indefinite strike. The NEC takes decisions based on the reports from branches,” he said.

Another member said, “I can confidently tell you that the majority of ASUU branches across the country voted for an indefinite strike. Over 90% voted for an indefinite strike. “’

Education ministry kicks
The spokesperson of the Federal Ministry of Education, Ben Goong, in an interview with The PUNCH, explained that the government had taken all possible steps to end the strike.

He said, “As regards the next steps, the government has already inaugurated a committee to harmonise the IPPIS, UTAS, and UP3. This will ensure that the government will pay with only one payment platform that will harmonise all the technical peculiarities.

“If you bring some demands and almost 80% have been attended to, there is no need to drag the strike anymore.

“It is unreasonable for the strike to be lingering seeing as the government has worked towards fulfilling most of the demands.”

NAPTAN wades in
The Public Relations Officer, National Parent-Teacher Association of Nigeria, Dr. Ademola Ekundayo, in an interview with one of our correspondents, alleged that the university teachers were adamant about the strike because most of them work elsewhere.

Ekundayo said, “We have found ourselves in an unfortunate situation and, under normal circumstances, parents should not offer such incentives and help that they rejected, but we discovered that we are at the receiving end and bearing the effect of the problem between FG and ASUU.

“And at the end of the day, ASUU will still collect their salary for the work they didn’t even do. Likewise, the Federal Government has nothing to lose. Their children are in private universities.


“Many of the ASUU professors are part-time lecturers at private universities; they are behaving like this because they don’t have anything to lose. I am telling you that they will push parents and students to a level they won’t be able to tolerate.”

CONUA reacts
Meanwhile, the National Coordinator of the Congress of University Academics, Dr Niyi Sunmonu, called for broader discussions that include more stakeholders in the tertiary education sector in an interview with one of our correspondents.

Sunmonu said, “The only solution is for the government to provide an immediate measure and then short-term and long-term steps. From what we read in the papers, it appears there has been a breakdown of trust between the two parties involved. The stakeholders involved in university education are more than two; the union on one side and the government on the other side.

“We have parents and alumni who are very concerned about the existence of their universities; we also have corporate bodies who are interested in the outputs of the universities. That is the best short-term solution the government should apply to resolve this issue.”

Seadogs backs ASUU
Meanwhile, the National Association of Seadogs (Pyrates Confraternity) on Sunday blamed the Federal Government’s disdain for education as the reason for the lingering industrial action by ASUU.

In a statement titled, “FG’s hollow hubris prolonging ASUU strike,” the NAS leader, Abiola Owoaje, described the stand of the Federal Government as “ill-conceived, reckless, and insensitive to the plight of students, parents, the university system, and Nigeria as a country.”

Owoaje said, “President Muhammadu Buhari’s aloofness on critical issues such as the ASUU strike is disappointing. His ministers, taking a cue from him, have treated the issues raised by ASUU with levity and utmost contempt

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

KWARA GOVT DIRECTS REOPENING COLLEGE OF EDUCATION, ILORIN

Kwara State Government has directed the re-opening of the College of Education Ilorin following five weeks of shutdown.The closure of the school followed a recent rampage and destruction of some public facilities by some students. We hereby announce the reopening of the school with immediate effect. The approval to reopen the school came after the government elicited the cooperation of the school management and students Union’s leadership on the need to justify the confidence reposed in them, maintain peace and prevent future damage to public facilities under whatever guise,” Commissioner for Tertiary Education Dr Alabi Afees Abolore said in a statement on Sunday.While it has accepted the plea by the school’s Governing Council, the school management, students and other stakeholders to reopen the school, the government will not tolerate such unruly behaviour in the future. We do not accept any attempt by anyone to disrupt public peace and hurt other members of the public in ...
Post a Comment
Read more

ASUU TO RESPOND TO FG’S STANCE ON SALARY, OTHERS AT NEC MEETING

The executive members of the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU), led by its President, Prof. Emmanuel Osodeke, is scheduled to meet and discuss the inability of the Federal Government to meet their demands.  ASUU NEC is also expected to deliberate on the half salary paid to its members by the Federal Government last month. The meeting is expected to cause palpable tension among university communities.  The meeting will take place at the union’s headquarters at the permanent site of the University of Abuja campus. The union’s leadership will address the government’s decision and discuss their potential responses to the development.  ASUU President, who disclosed this in an interview with The Guardian, said the Federal Government was yet to meet any of the union’s demands.  However, Osodeke steadfastly declined to disclose the meeting’s date, saying: “ I won’t say in advance when the meeting will take place. We are having a private meeting and will...
Post a Comment
Read more

TRINITY POLYTECHNIC RELEASES 2022 /2023 ADMISSION LIST

This is to inform all the candidates that applied for admission into the Trinity Polytechnic Uyo, Akwa Ibom State, ND programmes during the 2022/2023 academic session that they can now check their admission status. How to Check Trinity Polytechnic Admission List Currently, the Trinity Polytechnic prospective students can only access their admission status on the JAMB admission status checking portal by following the procedure outlined below: To access your Trinity Polytechnic admission status, go to the JAMB portal at https://efacility.jamb.gov.ng/. Login to your Jamb profile with your username and password. Scroll down, then locate and click the Check Admission Status tab. Select your Exam year and enter your registration number in the required column. Finally, click on Check Admission Status to access your Trinity Polytechnic admission status. Candidates not yet admitted should note that admission is in progress and regularly check the JAMB site for their admission status...
Post a Comment
Read more