Barely two months after the Academic
Staff Union of Universities (ASUU), called
off its nearly-six-month strike, the
Nigerian university system may soon be
thrown into another round of crisis.
ASUU yesterday, in Ibadan, the Oyo State
capital, alerted the nation of an alleged
non-compliance by the Federal
Government with the agreement signed
between both parties, last December,
prior to ASUU¡¯s decision to call off the
industrial action.
Accusing the President Goodluck
Jonathan administration of breaching its
agreement with the union, ASUU
pleaded with Nigerians to prevail on the
Federal Government to see to the
implementation of the contract,
particularly the aspect that deals with
funding of universities, so as to prevent
another round of strikes.
ASUU¡¯s National Treasurer, Dr. Ademola
Aremu, who made the appeal on behalf
of the union, alleged that the Federal
Government had not kept its own side
of the bargain.
Aremu recalled that the government had
promised to fund universities, but
wondered why, despite the assurances,
it was yet to do so.
The Federal Government recently
released N200 billion to the universities
before ASUU called off its strike, with an
expectation that a total sum of N1.3
trillion would be released in the next six
years.
The resolution was signed between
ASUU and the Federal Government on
December 11, 2013, in the presence of
the President of the Nigeria Labour
Congress (NLC), Comrade Abdulwaheed
Omar.
On Tuesday, December 17, 2013, the
National Executive Council (NEC) of the
lecturers¡¯ body resolved to suspend the
strike it embarked upon on July 1, 2013,
and directed its members to resume
work forthwith.
Aremu said: ¡°ASUU members are not
strike mongers; our last strike was
inevitable, although it was preventable.
Of the N220 billion that the Federal
Government promised to release to our
universities for their development, as we
are talking now, the money that is to be
warehoused with the Central Bank is yet
to be released.
The Federal Government¡¯s
promises remain just promises.
We are
appealing to Nigerians, through the
media, to help us appeal to the Federal
Government to make the promises
become a reality.¡±
ASUU maintained that, inasmuch as its
members would not want to resort to
strikes in settling issues with the
government, they would want Nigerians
to know that the conditions of the
universities really needed to be
improved upon.
Also, the chairman of the University of
Ibadan chapter of the union, Dr.
Olusegun Ajiboye, insisted that all that
ASUU members stand for, is a free
society, where individuals¡¯ rights and
entitlements are not trampled upon.
Ajiboye said ASUU members would
continue to kick against injustice in the
country until governments do the right
thing.
He urged the media, more than ever, to
sensitise Nigerians on the plight of ASUU
and its members in universities and
allied institutions, maintaining that the
struggle was meant for all Nigerians,
irrespective of status.
¡°A current case in point is the recent
sack of over 90 workers at CRIN (Cocoa
Research Institute of Nigeria), simply
because their appointments were not
confirmed.
This development is unacceptable to
ASUU, and we are kicking against it.
Nigeria must be a free state for
everybody.
¡°Despite the fact that ASUU was initially
called names during our strike, is ASUU
not vindicated at the end of the day?
What we are saying is that ASUU¡¯s
struggle is for all. We appreciate the
contribution of the media to our
struggle, and we urge you not to relent,¡±
he stated.
In the same vein, the union had recently
directed its members not to fill forms,
distributed by the National Universities
Commission (NUC), warning that it may
lead to an industrial action.
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