The various chapters of the Academic Staff
Union of Universities, ASUU, are scheduled to
hold their congresses on Monday to decide
whether or not to suspend the over four month
indefinite strike.
This disclosure was made by the chairman of the
University of Calabar, UNICAL, branch of ASUU,
Dr. James Okpiliya. Okpiliya, who spoke
exclusively with Saturday Mirror, further
disclosed that the report of the chapter
congresses will be submitted to an enlarged
National Executive Committee, NEC, of the
union.
According to the Senior Lecturer at the
Department of English and Literary Studies,
“Nigerians should understand that ASUU is
structured in a way that the national president
has no power to call off or suspend strike.
“In fact, even NEC cannot on its own suspend
strike, and that is why all the universities will
hold chapter congresses to decide whether to
suspend the strike or not. “When we are done on
Monday, we will simultaneously submit our
individual reports to NEC on Wednesday,”
Okpiliya said.
He noted that the strike will be called-off if the
number of branches for is more than those
against. Asked to be categorical on when a
decision will likely be made, he said “may be
Saturday”.
It will be recalled that President Goodluck
Jonathan had held a marathon meeting with the
leadership of ASUU on Monday, where he was
said to have offered the union N220 billion as
part of its “enhanced allowances.”
Consequently, ASUU president, Dr. Nasir Fagge,
who led his members to the over ten hours’
meeting, said he was taking “a message” from
President Jonathan to NEC. ASUU declared an
indefinite strike on July 1, to compel the federal
government to implement the 2009 agreement
both parties were said to have signed.


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Na wa o,,,,,,,dis ASUU pple just dey wicked,,,,abi na laziness dey do dem,,,anyway,even if na next year dem call am off,we go stil go back to school

I'll just perch and watch this whole new scene unravel..... Movie's becoming a whole lot monotonous, a clueless head and a wannabe renegade lecturer. No plot, no guile.... Least u could is make readings a bit sumptuous for tha kids who are home

it would seem as if I'm desperate to return to class if I fault ASUU is selfish. the government has shown it's commitment to resolve the issue while ASUU seems to be bent on searching for more loopholes

whatever!!!

obami007: Na wa o,,,,,,,dis ASUU pple just dey wicked,,,,abi na laziness dey do dem,,,anyway,even if na next year dem call am off,we go stil go back to school

They are very lazy,its obvious they aren't ready to go back to classes this year.

wasak: it would seem as if I'm desperate to return to class if I fault ASUU is selfish. the government has shown it's commitment to resolve the issue while ASUU seems to be bent on searching for more loopholes

whatever!!!

When yu have a govt that wasn't ready to implement an agreement it entered some 4yrs ago, yu then don't blame these guys if they don't trust d govt again. Smh for Naija Education.
Funny enuf, an SA friend of mine on Facebook has been disturbing me that she wants to come to do her masters here in Naija, I no get mind to tell her we've been on strike for ages If only she knew d condition of my beloved bush Country

This is an absolutely bogus news...desist from spreading rumour.

KingMEXX: When yu have a govt that wasn't ready to implement an agreement it entered some 4yrs ago, yu then don't blame these guys if they don't trust d govt again. Smh for Naija Education.
Funny enuf, an SA friend of mine on Facebook has been disturbing me that she wants to come to do her masters here in Naija, I no get mind to tell her we've been on strike for ages If only she knew d condition of my beloved bush Country

two wrongs don't make a write I think the government has played it's part....

jaidor: This is an absolutely bogus news...desist from spreading rumour.

Are you alright?

wasak:
two wrongs don't make a write I think the government has played it's part....

Playing its part is one thing, honouring the played part is another. ASUU has been decieved by our wash wash govt for ages. ASUU is simply looking for a concrete and firm evidence from FG. A fool at 40 is a fool forever. ASUU has played the fool for long, but right now they want to hold the bull by the horn. Agreement that took them four years with no implementation, is it in matter of months they will implement this new one. FG just want to pat ASUU on the back and go when they are excited, they will renege. It will be more foolish of ASUU to call off the strike and in matter of months go back due to non-implementation. I am fully in support of ASUU.

fabby26:

Playing its part is one thing, honouring the played part is another. ASUU has been decieved by our wash wash govt for ages. ASUU is simply looking for a concrete and firm evidence from FG. A fool at 40 is a fool forever. ASUU has played the fool for long, but right now they want to hold the bull by the horn. Agreement that took them four years with no implementation, is it in matter of months they will implement this new one. FG just want to pat ASUU on the back and go when they are excited, they will renege. It will be more foolish of ASUU to call off the strike and in matter of months go back due to non-implementation. I am fully in support of ASUU.

are u saying d strike should linger because the government cannot be. trusted?

Authentic Information, you guys can try lobbying the lecturers in various campuses to vote against the strike.

wasak:

are u saying d strike should linger because the government cannot be. trusted?

No, all am saying is that govt should show evidence of strong commitment towards the agreement reached. This is not the first time govt reneged on previous agreement and it will not be the last. I think all ASUU want is for some logistics to be put in place by all the necessary federal parastatals following all due process before calling off. With that, they can vividly hold govt by their words. It's that SIMPLE.

fabby26:

No, all am saying is that govt should show evidence of strong commitment towards the agreement reached. This is not the first time govt reneged on previous agreement and it will not be the last. I think all ASUU want is for some logistics to be put in place by all the necessary federal parastatals following all due process before calling off. With that, they can vividly hold govt by their words. It's that SIMPLE.

Well said.

i think say dey don give fg condition for strike to end.which one we go folo?anyway make i continue dey pray mak i get money for the yuletide

Benue State Governor, Gabriel Suswam, has alleged that the strike embarked upon by the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) was aimed at bringing down the administration of President Goodluck Jonathan.

In an interview with our correspondent, Suswam, who is the chairman of the Federal Government's Needs Assessment Committee for Nigerian Universities said: "ASUU's leadership is determined that PDP government must be brought down and the easiest way to do it is ensuring that every family is affected. And so, the Nigerian family will simply say, 'look, to keep this government in place, our children will be out of school. So it is better that we kick this government out and bring another government.

"That is all they are doing. There is nothing to it. Otherwise, the Federal Government has touched on all the requests that led to the strike by ASUU. They have no basis rather than playing politics with the strike and then holding the nation hostage and destroying the future of this country."

Buttressing his claim, Suswam said: "I feel that if it is not that they have introduced politics, you know people can't say that they don't have political leanings. ASUU's leadership, we know where they are standing in this whole political process. They can't deny that they are sympathising with opposition parties and they are determined to destroy the PDP government. That is what they are doing and it is nothing more than that."

The Benue State governor, who had attended several meetings with ASUU on government side, said the nine issues raised by the academic union had been attended to, though not 100 per cent.

He said: "I think that it is unfair. And I keep saying it that they have introduced politics into it. It's purely political. There is no way that any person can say any other thing. It is just to portray the government in bad light so that people will say that you have a government that is not capable of keeping the children in school. That is pure politics. There is nothing more to it because if you present nine issues and all of them have been attended to, even if not attended to 100 per cent, at least you should appreciate that efforts have been made and you should say that it is okay because this has been done.

"There were a lot of issues that were presented. Constitution of governing councils has been done; they said they should help them set up pension administrator, N250 million was given to them; they said they wanted the properties of universities handed over to them, government said go and form companies and compete, we will do that. You know a couple of other things, the need assessment, an initial N100 billion has been distributed.

"The retirement age, they say they don't want to retire at 65, it has been approved, all the academic staff in the university retire at 70. Earned allowance, out of N57 billion, N30 billion has been given."

Suswam said the issue that had kept the universities closed were not because government could not pay salaries but the earned allowances, adding, "Academic staffs of universities collect more than civil servants in this country.... They have been paying that consistently and nobody is being owed salary. These are issues of allowance.

"This earned allowance; it is not every lecturer in the university that is entitled to it. So, why must it be a reason why you keep the children out of school? It doesn't make sense and I am surprised most Nigerian are looking at this differently. If in a nation, the whole leaders of tomorrow are being kept out of school, then its means that in future, you can imagine the kind of leaders we would have."

Recalling his involvement in the efforts to resolve the crisis in the Nigerian university system, Suswam said when he was invited by the President to chair the Needs Assessment part of the ASUU strike, he took the responsibility very seriously.

"Out of this three weeks, may be I spent like just four days in Benue because I was determined that we must raise money for this Needs Assessment. And within those three weeks, that committee which I chaired was able to raise the N100 billion, which has since been shared. Once we shared that money, this people (ASUU) moved to other areas; which is issue of earned allowances, which was being handled by the SGF", he said