The President of Academic Staff Union of Universities, Dr. Isa Fagge has said it is continuing its nationwide strike on the advice of university students.

Speaking with PUNCH, the President of the union said students were tired of the incessant industrial actions by the university lecturers due to the Federal Government’s failure to implement the agreement it had with ASUU since 2009.

Fagge said the union had decided to heed the advice of the students to continue the
strike until the Federal Government fully implemented the agreement.

“Our students have come out to say they don’t want us to call off the strike until the Federal Government answers us, because they don’t want us to call off now and later we go back to strike again. So, we are heeding the advice of our students,” he said.

On the complaint by the Federal Government that it lacked the funds to implement the agreement, Fagge said it was not all about money, noting that government did not need funds to start implementing some parts of the agreement.

“There are issues and agreement they can implement without money. Why don’t they begin with those ones?” he asked.

He added that it was unfortunate that the government had pulled out of dialogue with ASUU, stating that the union would not be intimidated.

He said, “Now, government has pulled out of the dialogue. We thought we were the ones going on strike, but now government has also gone on strike.”

The university lecturers who began an indefinite strike on July 1 and have been demanding full implementation of the agreement ASUU had with the Federal Government in 2009, which among other things include the UNESCO-recommended 26 per cent budgetary allocation for education. However, the government said it could not implement the agreement, and is seeking re-negotiation.

The Minister of Information, Labaran Maku, who gave government’s position on the strike when he briefed journalists at the end of the weekly meeting of the Federal Executive Council, said apart from security, education was one of the sectors the government had expended a lot of money on.

gregg2: ASUU "agreements" never finish. As government implements one the next is put on the table again for discussion These guys are a greedy bunch.

jaidey-one:
A n Tori oja ja, oja ni talo n ja leyinkule oun.
The annoying thing about this ASUU strike is the fact that some numbskulls who call themselves students now see their lecturers as their enemies. Some lecturers harass and extort students but that doesn't change the fact that these lecturers are fighting for increased funding for education. Their allowances are so minute compared to the bulk that would go into building class rooms, laboratories, lecture halls, etc. ASUU members wont share 87billion amongst themselves. They are fighting for all Nigerians. They want a better environment for learning so that these ignorant ones can get a proper education.

The FG pays less than a million millitants hundreds of billions annually but oil theft is still unexpectedly high. The same FG finds it difficult to release 87billion naira to provide better education for millions of youths trying to get an education instead of going into millitancy!!!

Instead of these students to support ASUU some of us call them thieves. It's a shame!!!

How do we expect our universities to get better when lecturers get paid peanuts How do we intend to attract the best minds when a first class graduate would rather work for a bank because the pay is better? How do you explain the fact that a phd holder in a federal university with 15+ years of experience earns 300k

Countries like SA, Ghana, etc spend about 25% of their budget on education but Nigeria spends less that 10%!!!

This country is a joke!!!

Their allowances are so minute compared to the bulk that would go into building class rooms, laboratories, lecture halls, etc. ASUU members wont share 87billion amongst themselves. They are fighting for all Nigerians. They want a better environment for learning so that these ignorant ones can get a proper education.

ganase2:

http://www.punchng.com/news/students-dont-want-us-to-end-strike-ASUU/

Rio Fernandez: Please Let the strike continue. Am loving it ohh! So will hustle well well with my hustle. So that, at the end will go back to sch with a Car. Haha. ASUU no gree oh