ASUP said it will convene a meeting of polytechnic lecturers very soon.

Efforts to resolve the ongoing indefinite strike by university lecturers worsened on Tuesday as the lecturers’ union leaders walked out on lawmakers trying to intervene in the crisis.

The lecturers have been on strike for over one week over
government’s failure to implement previous agreements
with it

The lecturers’ union, the Academic Staff Union of
Universities, ASUU, on Tuesday in Abuja, walked out on the joint National Assembly Committee on Education at a
meeting.

The meeting was also attended by Ministers of Education
and Labour, Professor Ruqquayatu Ruf’ai and Emeka
Nwogu respectively.

The NASS joint committee on Education had called the
aggrieved unions in the nation’s higher institutions for a
dialogue on the way forward in their ongoing industrial
action.

The meeting was convened by the joint committee on
education of the Senate and House of Representatives.
The committee had invited ASUU, the Academic Staff Union of Polytechnics (ASUP) and the Academic Staff Union of Colleges of Education (COEASU) to a dialogue to resolve the strikes.

The strike by ASUP, Nigerian polytechninc lecturers,
entered into its eight week; while the ASUU strike began on July 1.

The committee had asked ASUU leaders to excuse it, while it interacted with ASUP and COEASU; which was viewed as a slight by ASUU.

The representatives of ASUU left the National Assembly
Complex in annoyance, saying they were slighted.
One of the members, who declined to give his name, told
journalists that they had another appointment to attend to.

Another said, “asking us to excuse them is a slight; why
should they ask us to excuse them; what is it that they
want to discuss that we cannot be part of.’’

The Chairman of the Senate Committee, Uche
Chukwumerije (PDP-Abia), tried to defend ASUU’s actions,
but members said there was no rationale for ASUU to leave.

Mr. Chukwumerije said that the committee would intensify its negotiation with the government to ensure that the issues at stake were resolved.

“All we are urging is that you call an emergency meeting
with 24 hours because the students are getting restive.

“We need to understand that if these students go out of
hand, it will cause more problems for the country.

“Please trust us to keep to this two weeks we have given
you to try and implement your demands,’’ he said
Senator Sunny Ugbuoji (PDP-Ebonyi) said it was
unacceptable for ASUU to walk out on the committee as
this showed a disregard for the entire parliament.

“ASUU has walked out on us and this should be said in
plain terms. What meeting can be more important than
this meeting?’’ Mr. Ugbuoji asked.

Representative Farouk Lawan (PDP-Kano) said that no
matter what other meeting ASUU had, “it was wrong to
walk out on us, we were trying to resolve a matter
concerning the unions.’’

Mr. Lawan said ASUU should have been patient and waited to hear from the members and the ministers, noting that no other meeting could be more important.
He urged the committee chairmen not to relent in
rescheduling another meeting with ASUU in the interest of the students who were still at home. He described the
‘’snub’’ by the ASUU representatives as not expected of
university lecturers.

Rep. Jerry Alagbaso (PDP-Imo) said ASUU’s action was
unacceptable and advised that a letter be written to the
union expressing the committee’s disapproval.

“It is arrogant for them to snub us knowing that this
meeting is in the interest of our children.

“I suggest that a strong-worded letter be written to the
union to tell them that we are not happy with their action,” he said.

Earlier, the committee had appealed to ASUP to call off its
eight-week old strike, saying that the committee was in
talks with the Federal Government on the way forward.
The committee, however, expressed optimism on the
solution within two weeks.

The ASUP President, Chibuzor Asomugha, told the
committee that the union would hold its National Executive Council (NEC) meeting and try to do the bidding of the National Assembly.

The President of COEASU, Emmanuel Nkoro, appealed to
the committee and the ministers to look into his
association’s demands to avert any strike action.

The Minister of Education, Prof. Ruqquayatu Ruf’ai, and her Labour counterpart, Emeka Nwogu, appealed to ASUP to convene a NEC meeting and call off the strike.

Both ministers gave the assurance that the Federal
Government was looking into issues raised with a view to
reaching an amicable resolution.

Source:premiumtimesng.com/news/140623-ASUU-strike-worsens-as-lecturers-walk-out-of-meeting-with-lawmakers-ministers.html

Representative Farouk Lawan
(PDP-Kano) said that no
matter what other meeting
ASUU had, “it was wrong to
walk out on us, we were trying
to resolve a matter
concerning the unions.’’

the way things are run in this country calls for questions.

The meeting was for the tertiary education system in nigeria which comprises of universities, polytechnics and colleges of education. Why would they call a meeting concerning the tertiary education lecturers and try to exempt one of them, this is illogical.
Since they didn't want ASUU to be part of the meeting, they shouldn't have given them the same appointment with their other counterparts. Their own meeting should have been on another schedule.

@ the emboldened, so this man can still open his mouth to condemn?
SMH for nigeria.

In the interest of them that should be lynched and exiled.

ASUU made an uncalculated mistake before the national assemble and the ministers who spent their time and our national resources to converne for such a crucial meeting. Telling them to excuse for the breif time is never a crime, it is obtainable else where, even in the law court. They should have accepted to make any sacrifies to ensure that the issue on ground is amicably resolved for the interest of the students and our educational sector.