Prepare for long strike, ASUU warns FG The Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) said yesterday that it is not interested in further negotiations with the Federal Government rather, the implementation of some aspects of the 2009 agreement. Addressing newsmen in Ibadan, Oyo State capital to clarify issues, while officially declaring the commencement of a full blown strike at the University of Ibadan (UI) branch congress today, ASUU National Treasurer, Dr Ademola Aramu, urged the government to stop dragging issues by “ talking, talking , talking with no action”, adding that the Presidency should stop playing tomfoolery with intellectuals. Dr Aremu noted that ASUU is back again because “we are dealing with a very difficult situation for President Goodluck Jonathan, we may be in this for so long time. We ought to embark on this strike since June 15, but because of the love we have for our profession, students, and parents, we gave government time to act, but it refused. “Nigerians believe that we are the one that can save them, we know we are, the only way we can do this is embarking on a strike. We are not strike-hungry, but it is to make them (government) fulfill their obligation. They said the country is financially handicapped, Nigeria is rich, we are making about 15 trillion naira from crude oil sales alone yearly and the total budget is about 5 trillion naira”, he said. He noted that the Education Trust Fund (ETF) that was meant to provide infrastructure support to Nigerian universities is now allegedly used to sponsor political appointees, adding that there are wastages daily as government’s top functionaries are establishing institutions outside the country with taxpayers’ money. “We are not interested in talking, talking, with no action, they must shun this attitude and embark on implementation of our 2009 agreement, if they will not do this, we are not going to the class. We want Nigerian students to know that we are fighting for them, because this present administration is promoting poverty. We are speaking the town’s language, because the present administration is putting the future of education to shambles and the world will not be destroyed by those who do evil, but by those who watch without doing anything”. A source at the Federal Ministry of Education in Ibadan said that the meeting of Senate Committee on Education with the Minister, Prof. Rukayyatu Rufa’i, her Labour counterpart, Emeka Wogu, may force the striking union to call off its strike very soon. A member of the Senior Staff Association of Nigerian Universities (SSANU UI), Bayo (surname withheld) at the secretariat, revealed that SSANU may also step in, if the government fails to carry out the signed agreement with ASUU. …Senate raises task force on ASUP’s action From ADETUTU FOLASADE-KOYI, Abuja In a bid to break the two-month old strike of the Academic Staff Union of Polytechnics (ASUP), Senate yesterday set up a task force to resolve the dispute. Chairman of the Senate Committee on Education, Uche Chukwumerije, disclosed this to Daily Sun in Abuja. He expressed optimism that the industrial action would soon be resolved as “all stakeholders in the dispute have tabled their demands and there seems to be headway in the negotiations…” Last Tuesday’s meeting in Abuja was the third the Senate is wading into the dispute; having met with ASUP and the Education Minister, Prof. Ruqayyatu Rufa’i twice last month. But a source on the Education Committee, however, told Daily Sun that in furtherance of the Senate’s intervention, the Ministers of Education and Labour, together with ASUP officials met with the task force on Tuesday where the striking polytechnic teachers tabled their conditions. The source said inability to resolve the dispute before now was because of some conditions tabled by ASUP but which is now being resolved by all the stakeholders. “ASUP insisted that polytechnics should be fully involved in NIPPIS. They want to be consulted. They also demanded implementation of CONTISS 15 as well as the resuscitation of Visitation Panels. “ASUP also demanded that the Federal Government must complete the appointment of governing boards for polytechnics. The officials said that some of the governing boards are already in place but that there remained about five or six remaining to be filled. The ASUP also wanted a more participatory approach to evolving policies which affects polytechnics…” With regards to the ASUU’s indefinite industrial action, Daily Sun gathered that, “preliminary discussions have started. We will soon meet with the officials but the committee is disappointed that ASUU didn’t put us into confidence before going on strike…”
Posted on: Thu, 04 Jul 2013 14:45:19 +0000