ASUU/Fed.govt meeting Ended in Deadlock

Efforts to resolve the strike by Nigeria’s
Academic Staff Union of Universities
(ASUU), may take a longer time as the
union on has rejected Federal
Government’s plan to re-negotiate their
2009 Agreement. The Chairman of
UNN-ASUU, Dr Ifeanyi Abada, made
this position known while briefing
newsmen in Nsukka after a congress
attended by some national and zonal
officers.
Abada explained that the union took
this stand because government did not
sign the agreement under duress He
said UNN-ASUU and other chapters of
the union nationwide were determined
to withdraw their services until the
federal government implemented the
agreement. ASUU cannot be cajoled by
any unbridled campaign or blackmail as
being paddled by some federal
government’s officials.
“The union is worried by the insincerity
of government and condemns this
perfidy in its entirety’’, he said. Abada
said ASUU was also demanding the
removal of Prof. Julius Okogie, the NUC
Secretary, for fanning the embers of
hatred against members of the union.
Okogie, who is supposed to mediate
between ASUU and government, had
regrettably morphed into another
political valve through which
universities were further demeaned and
derailed.
“Okogie should be invited by
government to account for over N100
billion Universities Stabilisation Fund.
He has demonstrated that he has
outlived his usefulness and bereft of
innovative ideas and aptitude to turn
universities around’’, he said. He called
on education stakeholders, the clergy
and traditional rulers to prevail on
government to respect the 2009
agreement it entered with ASUU to
improve standards in tertiary
institutions. We are not asking for
government to fill our pockets with
money, but that universities should be
well funded.
“It is unfortunate that students in some
universities take lectures in open spaces
and in stadiums like in UNN. We are
tired of producing half-baked graduates
because of ill-equipped libraries,
laboratories and lack of classrooms,
while some politicians squander money
meant to develop the country’’, he
said.Former UNN-ASUU chairman,
Prof. Aloysius Okolie, decried
government’s inability to allocate 26 per
cent of its annual budget to education
He explained that that was the
minimum percentage as recommended
by UNESCO.This is an indication that
government does not care about the
quality of education in the country.
Government should consider the future
of Nigerian students and fulfill its own
part of agreement it reached with ASUU
“It is noteworthy that war torn Somalia
and other smaller countries of the world
who value education allocate above 26
per cent to education’’, he said.
Dr Chide Osuagwu, Zonal Coordinator,
ASUU Nsukka Zone, comprising UNN,
UNiZIK, ESUT, Anambra State
University and Ebony State University,
said ASUU had exercised enough
patience since 2009. ASUU will not
attend any re-negotiating meeting
called by government. If government
had known it cannot implement the
agreement, why did it sign it?’’ About
200 lecturers attended the UNN-ASUU
congress, which lasted for several hours