Students, any more hope this year, as in universities under ASUU to
resume?? Because according to ASUU |"things are not smiling as it is"
read the full story from tribune
THE Academic Staff Union of
Nigerian Universities (ASUU) is planning to end the ongoing five-month
strike mid-January next year, a faction of the University of Lagos
(UNILAG) chapter alleged on Monday.
The faction, however, insisted that the closure of Nigerian universities by the lecturers must end this week.
Leader of the faction, Dr Adeyemi Daramola, a lecturer in the
Department of English, Faculty of Arts accused the body of assuming
oracular posture on the strike.
According to him, “The position of ASUU has
not demonstrated original function of its rules which says “reports on
agreement from the union universities’ branches should be collated and
announced”.
“ASUU-NEC has assumed an oracular posture by its very poor communication to members, government and the Nigerian society.
“The target of ASUU is to call off the strike by mid-January of 2014
which is no longer a rumour in the domain of its members. We have
postponed other meetings of this pressure version of UNILAG
ASUU to discuss issues and shall call a new one if ASUU-NEC fails to suspend the strike before the end off the week.
“If necessary, we shall take all legitimate steps to ensure that
normalcy is restored to all the Nigerian universities as soon as
possible, as the group would not accept the rumour of a resumption date
fixed for January, 2014. About two universities’ academic calendar have
been wasted on strike, including lecturers’ four months salaries lost.”
Controversies have continued to trail the participation of UNILAG’s
chapter of the union, with the new faction allegedly creating uproar at
the congress held in the institution yesterday.
Another leader of
the anti-strike faction, Dr Michael Ogbeide of the History Department
told the Nigerian Tribune on phone that “the ASUU strike had become
nonsense and must be stopped. A lot of our members also believe so but
are afraid to speak out.”
He assured that the faction would keep pressurising the leadership until the strike is called off.
When asked the next line of action if UNILAG ASUU leadership did not
accede to the faction’s request, he said “as an historian, in war, you
don’t divulge your strategy before hand.”
Early on Monday
morning, there were rumours that the Unilag ASUU had decided to withdraw
from the strike, but this was debunked by some members of the union,
though it was confirmed that there was a split among the members, with
Daramola’s faction reportedly kicking against the institution’s
continued participation in the strike.
According to a source who
pleaded anonymity, the congress actually turned out disorganised and
divided, as some members, during the meeting began to protest, demanding
UNILAG’s withdrawal from the strike.
It was learnt that after
the meeting became rowdy, the two factions later held separate meetings,
with both reportedly resolving to maintain their postures.
The main body insisted that the strike would be on until grey areas are
sorted out. Minister condemns ASUU’s conditions for suspension of
strike The Supervising Minister of Education, Nyesom Wie has
condemned the new conditions set out by the leadership of ASUU as a
yardstick to call off its over four month old strike.
The
minister, who said he was going to meet with President Goodluck Jonathan
on the development, said the union wants immediate implementation of
the N1.2 trillion offered by the government to public universities,
starting with the release of N100 billion this year and the balance of
N1.1 trillion to be spread over five years from 2014.
Wike,
who spoke in Abuja on Monday added, that the Union though indicated
readiness to call off the over-prolonged industrial action. He
stressed that the Federal Government and members of the National
Assembly would engage the union further on its decision.
According to him, “ASUU has given new conditions, after they had an agreement with President Goodluck Jonathan at the Villa.
“He said, he would meet with the President on the new conditions by
ASUU. Among the three conditions given by ASUU in order to end the
strike were payment of four months salary arrears which accumulated
during the period of the strike; immediate implementation of the N1.2
trillion offered by the government to public universities, starting with
the release of N100bn this year and the balance of N1.1tn to be spread
over five years from 2014”.
The union also demanded
that the salary arrears must not be paid piecemeal. These were some of
the resolutions reached by members of the National Executive Council of
the union that met in Kano on Friday which has been sent to the Federal
Government before they will call off the strike.
Reports
indicated that the university lecturers in Nigeria have agreed to end
the five-month old strike by ASUU. If the Federal Government agrees to
three conditions.
EBSU dares ASUU, resumes tomorrow
The
management of Ebonyi State University, Abakaliki (EBSU) on Monday
announced that academic activities would resume in all the campuses of
the institution today.
It also ordered lecturers and students of
the institution to return to classes following the inability of ASUU to
end its over four-month strike in the country.
In a
statement signed by the Registrar of the institution, Mr Sam N. Egwu, it
stressed that the institution had resolved to commence academic
activities, not minding the disagreement existing between ASUU and the
Federal Government.
“Having waited patiently for Federal
Government and ASUU to resolve the impasse behind the over four-month
strike embarked upon by the union to no avail, the management of EBSU
has resolved to re-open classes for learning to commence on Tuesday, the
26th day of November, 2013.
“We therefore inform all concerned
that teaching and learning will begin fully on Tuesday, 26th, November,
2013. This is to enable us to cover what we have lost to the strike,”
the statement read.
Nigerian Tribune learnt that the resolution
was the outcome of the meeting held last week by the management of the
institution, including lecturers where 80 per cent of the lecturers in
attendance agreed that they should ignore the ASUU nationwide strike and
return to class.
When Nigerian Tribune contacted the
EBSU-ASUU chairman, Professor Ndubuisi Idenyi, he dissociated the ASUU
chapter of EBSU from the purported reopening by the management and
maintained that the strike was still in progress until there is a
directive from their national leadership
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