President Goodluck Jonathan on Saturday warned
that the nationwide strike embarked upon by the
Academic Staff Union of Universities might endanger
the lives of Nigerian youths if further prolonged.
The President spoke in Ado Ekiti, the state capital
during the inauguration of the College of
Engineering, Afe Babalola University.
He urged ASUU to take into consideration the plight
of the learners as patriotic citizens, saying, “The
future of the country should not be sacrificed on the
altar of industrial disharmony. This can endanger the
future of the country.
“I want to beg ASUU to reconsider its stand on the
current impasse rocking our universities, which has
kept students out of school for four months.
“This hard stand and protracted crisis can endanger
the collective destiny of millions of the future
leaders. The future of the country should not be
altered on the altar of industrial dispute.”
ASUU on Friday however ruled out the possibility of
accepting a new offer from the Federal Government,
insisting that the 2009 agreement it had with
government must be fully implemented.
The National Treasurer of the union, Dr. Ademola
Aremu, told SUNDAY PUNCH that the university
lecturers were not making new demands.
He said, “What we are saying is that ASUU is not
making a fresh demand. For the N600bn that is
being touted, they said N200bn would be included in
the budget next year, the year after and the year
after. But the agreement of 2009, says government
will inject N1.5trn in universities in three years. Then,
in 2012, the MOU says government will inject
N1.3trn in four years.
“Government now making a new offer shows that it
wants to unilaterally repudiate our agreement. There
was not a place in that agreement that said
government should release N600bn in three years.
An agreement is a covenant and a covenant must be
obeyed and respected,” he said.
Also, Jonathan on Saturday, pleaded with the
disengaged workers of the unbundled Power Holding
Company of Nigeria not to embark on industrial
action.
He gave the assurance that those who had yet to be
paid their severance entitlements would soon be
settled.
Jonathan spoke at the official commissioning of the
National Integrated Power Project 500MW Omotosho
Phase II Power Station in Omotosho, Ondo State.
“I will like to reassure all PHCN workers and our dear
labour leaders that are yet to receive their full
severance package that government is working hard
to ensure that all of them get what is due to them.
There is no need for industrial action,” the President
said.
He described the event as part of his administration’s
efforts to provide adequate, reliable and sustainable
electricity supply to Nigerians.
He said with the implementation of his
administration’s power sector reform, things could
only get better for the country and its citizens.
The President said his administration’s target was to
boost power supply in the country by 4,700MW
through the 10 NIPP projects.
Having commissioned two of the projects starting
with that of Geregu, Kogi State, Jonathan said the
commissioning of the remaining eight would be
concluded before the end of first quarter of next year.
He added that at completion, all the 10 projects
would be fully privatised.
“Our interest is on how we can stabilise light and we
promise that before the middle of next year, light will
be reasonably (I am not saying total) stabilised in
this country. Any difficulty we still experience from
fluctuation in supply should be understood to be
temporary, not endemic again.”
Governor Olusegun Mimiko of Ondo State said his
government and the people of the state were elated
to host such a gigantic project that would not only
serve the people of the state but indeed all Nigerians.

Source: www.akinlexupdate.com