THIS IS WICKEDNESS
National Executive Council (NEC) meeting of
Academic Staff Union of Polytechnics (ASUP) has in
a voice vote demanded for continuation of its
ongoing three-month-old industrial action until the
Federal Government does its own part of the
bargain. ASUP blamed the President Goodluck Jonathan-led
Federal Government for the closure of polytechnics
nationwide and keeping of the nation’s youths in
their parents’ houses for over three months having
failed to honour an agreement it willingly entered
with the union in 2010. It, therefore, urged the president to intervene now before matters become
unmanageable.
Despite the plea by the host of the meeting, the
Rector Federal Polytechnic Oko, Prof. Godwin Onu
and the students of the Polytechnic on the visiting
NEC members to call off the strike as the Federal Government is now ready to listen to their agitation,
NEC gave a resounding No to resumption of
academic activities until the 12-point issues raised
are resolved.
The strike, ASUP NEC noted, would end immediately
the Federal Government agrees to do what is honourable and right in accordance with the
agreement it made with ASUP since 2010. The
union wondered why the Federal Government
would intervene immediately in issues concerning
Colleges of Education and Universities but would
not give attention to that of Polytechnics. “So all hope is not lost on the calling off of the strike
before the end of our NEC meeting depending on
the intervention of Mr President… There is no end
for the strike in sight; so our students should be
patient so we can remove the ceiling on their
progression in service and entry point,” said the National President of ASUP, Comrade Chibuzo
Asomugha.
He lamented that there are Commissions for
Universities and Colleges of Education as well as
other lesser institutions but none for the
Polytechnics, wondering why the Federal Government should shift the goal post at the middle
of the game by reneging on the agreement it
signed in 2010 and only to diligently implement the
agreement it entered with other categories of
tertiary institutions.
“The level of engagement is irreversible and inevitable but there is light at the end of the tunnel
…we want to come out stronger from the strike.
There is no monetary benefit for us in what we are
asking for but we are saying that we deserve
respect for what we can do.
“We have begged the students who besieged us here to plead with us that they are tired of staying
at home to have a little patience because we are
ready for a very long drawn battle with the Federal
Government on the strike.
“ASUP is not ready to call off the strike until the
Federal Government does what is right because our agitation is not for ourselves but for the betterment
of the Polytechnic education in Nigeria. ASUP is not
known for strike but the Federal Government is
disrespecting Polytechnic lecturers. We are not
renegotiation with the Federal Government,” the
union leader said, insisting that the agitation of the ASUP are in line with “Non commencement of NEED
Assessments of the Nigerian Polytechnics as done
for the Universities and other Institutions.”
He lamented that the problem of the Polytechnics is
from the Polytechnics Act.
Traditional Ruler of Oko, Prof Laz Ekwueme, had during a courtesy call on him by the union urged
the ASUP NEC members to challenge their
colleagues to stop indulging in all acts unbefitting
to their calling as lecturers. Similarly, the Chairman
of ASUP, Federal Poly, OKO chapter, Dr Onyeka
Uwakwe, enumerated the advantages of having a Commission for the Polytechnics and thanked the
Rector of the Polytechnic for hosting the 74th NEC.