ASUU Strike: Union Stages Walkout On NASS, Ministers By: Edegbe Odemwingie, Jonathan Nda-Isaiah on July 10, 2013 - 3:30am Moves to end the protracted strike recently embarked on by the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) suffered setback yesterday as the union walked out on the National Assembly Joint Committees on Education, Minister of Education, Professor Ruqayyatu Rufai and the Minister of Labour and Productivity, Chief Emeka Wogu. The walkout occurred during a meeting convened by the lawmakers to help resolve the ongoing dispute between tertiary unions and federal government. Trouble started when the ASUU members were directed to wait outside the meeting room, to allow the lawmakers and the federal delegates clear outstanding issues with the Academic Staff Union of Politechnics (ASUP), a move that angered the ASUU delegation prompting them to leave the National Assembly. In the ensuing face-off, Chairman, House of Representatives Committee on Education, Aminu Suleiman, suggested that the meeting be suspended and a new date fixed and communicated to the union’s representatives. Also, former chairman of the House Committee on Education, Farouk Lawan, expressed displeasure over the actions of the ASUU members. “We do not deserve such treatment as lawmakers,” Lawan complained to a colleague, and suggested that the committees write a warning letter to the union to avoid a repetition. The meeting was afterward adjourned till further notice by the Chairman of the Senate Committee on Education, Uche Chukwumerije. Meanwhile, the National President of ASUP, Comrade Chibuzor Asomugha, told the National Assembly joint committee that resolutions and agreements reached with the federal government following series of meeting aimed at ending the strike would be communicated with its National Executive Committee (NEC). Chukwumerije and the ministers present urged ASUP to convene an emergency NEC meeting on or before 48 hours to communicate the agreements with the federal government for the union’s decision.
Posted on: Wed, 10 Jul 2013 09:11:24 +0000
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