Tobias Sylvester
The Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) has expressed readiness to suspend its ongoing seven-month old strike if the federal government accept its “minimum” demands.
ASUU Says It’s Willing To End Its Ongoing Strike
KanyiDaily recalls that ASUU had embarked on a warning strike since February 14, over the failure of the federal government to meet its demands.
Amid the strike, the government and the union have held a series of meetings, but both sides have reached no agreement on ending the strike.
Speaking during a town hall meeting tagged: “The Locked Gates of our Citadels – A National Emergency” on Thuesday, ASUU president, Emmanuel Osodeke said the union is ready to suspend its strike if the government shows willingness to accept its “minimum” demands.
Odesoke said, “On all these issues, we have given the government a minimum that we can accept, but they have not responded on issue of revitalisation, earned allowance and on other issues that we have all discussed.
“We negotiated and agreed that they should sign. This is very simple and it will not take more than one day.
“On UTAS and IPPIS , we say ‘release the report of the test you did, let’s look at the one who came first, and take it as we agreed’.
“So, we have given them the minimum we want and we have to come down, and they can do it in one day if there is a will.
“If the government loves this country, these children, and their parents, then they should come to the table and let us resolve these issues in one day.
“Just as we did in 2014, they should come and ensure that we do that. We can even have the meeting openly so that Nigerians will see what we are discussing.”
The ASUU president expressed sadness over the lingering strike resulting to government taking the union to court.
He said that suing the union was not an option as it would further worsen the situation of the students and tertiary education in the country.
He said that if the court forces the lecturers to return to school, they won’t force them to teach with open minds, saying that the students would definitely be at the receiving end.
Osodeke commended the Committee of Vice Chancellors and Pro-Chancellors for stepping in to resolve the issues
He, therefore, called on parents and students to appeal to the government to do the needful so that the strike would come to an end once and for all, rather than attacking the union.
Meanwhile, Mrs Vivian Bello , Convener, Save Public Education Campaign, an NGO, pleaded with both parties to resolve the problems saying that the students are not the only people feeling the negative impact, but also the union.
Bello said that it behooves on both sides to bring the crisis to a perpetual end for the sake of the students as well as the development of education in the country.
”We are going to play our traditional role which is the role of monitor. We are going to keep very strong searchlight on the two actors- both in the government and on ASUU, in order to see that this issue of back and forth is quickly brought to an end the strike will be called-off,” she said.
KanyiDaily recalls that ASUU had recently converted its ongoing strike to an indefinite industrial action after fruitless and unending negotiations with the government.
