President Goodluck Jonathan literally denied the
seven-day ultimatum to striking university lecturers
to return to work, yesterday, saying the Committee
of Vice Chancellors (CVC) issued the deadline.
According to him, the supervising minister of
education, Mr. Nyeson Wike, only made the
ultimatum public.
The ultimatum, which began counting last Thursday,
ends on Wednesday.
Jonathan, also, yesterday, described the ASUU
prolonged strike as subversive.
The industrial action, which started on July 1, enters
the sixth month today.
“We didn’t give them ultimatum. It was the
committee of Vice Chancellors that took that
decision. The supervising minister of education only
passed on the decision. What ASUU is doing is no
longer trade dispute but subversive action”, the
president said.
Saying, however, that government will consult on
the deadline to ASUU members, he said, “So that we
will not be perceived to be insensitive, we will
consult on the deadline”.
Jonathan spoke, yesterday, while responding to an
appeal by a former governor of Bayelsa State, Chief
DSP Alamieyeseigha, that government should
reconsider its ultimatum to the ASUU members to
return to work or be sacked.
Alamieyeseigha made his plea at Bayelsa State
Government House, Yenagoa, during a meeting of
the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) state caucus.
According to the President, “What ASUU is doing is
no longer trade union. I have intervened in other
labour issues before now, once I invite them they
respond and after the meeting they take decision
and call off the strike. Atimes we don’t even give
them a long notice unlike in the case of ASUU that
were given four days notice before the meeting.
As you are meeting to resolve trade disputes, you
expect the trade unions to get their officials ready,
what was expected having met with the highest
authority in the land for long hours, was for ASUU to
immediately issue statement within 12 or latest 24
hours to state their position whether they were
accepting government’s offer or not. And if they are
not accepting they state the reason why.
”But despite the fact that I had the longest meeting
with ASUU in my political history, we did not start
that meeting until around 2 p.m. and the meeting
ended the next day in the early hours of the
morning. As far as the government of Nigeria was
concern all the critical people that should be in a
meeting were there, so what else do they want?
”After that they didn’t meet until one week, despite
the fact that you met with the highest authority. It
was unfortunate one of them, Prof. Iyayi died.
”The way ASUU has conducted the matter shows
they were extreme and when iyayi died they now
said the strike was now indefinite, our children have
been at home for over five months”.
President Jonathan also thanked the Bayelsa people
for their prayers and support while he fell ill in
London.
He emphasised the need for party faithful to be
united, stressing that the key to political success
was the unity of the people and that divided people
bring about a lot of issues.
In his remarks, Governor Seriake Dickson
commended Jonathan’s deep interest in the state
caucus and making out time despite his tight
schedule to be part of it, where issues affecting the
party are discussed and solutions found.
Govt has done enough for ASUU – UNIJOS VC
Meanwhile, the Vice-Chancellor of University of Jos,
Prof. Hayard Mafuyai, yesterday, said the Federal
Government has done enough and even shown
commitment for ASUU to call-off the strike.
The VC spoke while answering questions from
journalists at the end of the year dinner and award
night of UNIJOS 80-85 Alumni Group in Abuja.
He said the challenges facing the education sector in
the country over the decades cannot be corrected
overnight, so ASUU should call-off the strike.
“We just met with the Supervising Minister of
Education, Mr. Nyesom Wike, and we have been
appealing to our colleagues and ASUU to do what we
believe should be done, that is to call off the strike,”
Mafuyai said.
”I think the Federal Government has done enough to
move the education sector forward as the ills of
many decades cannot be corrected overnight and
we should listen to the mood of the nation to call-off
the strike in the overall public interest”.
When he was asked about the security situation in
Jos and how it has affected University of Jos, he
blamed the media for poor reportage and how it is
adversely affecting socio-economic development of
the university and Plateau State.
‘Threat won’t end strike’
In a related development, students affected by the
ASUU strike say threat would not end the impasse.
The National Coordinator, Education Rights
Campaign (ERC), Hassan Soweto, who spoke on the
ultimatum to ASUU, said threat will only worsen the
situation. “If the FG goes ahead with the threat, then
ASUU, the trade union movement and civil society
organisations should be expected to respond with
nationwide mass protest and demonstrations,”
Soweto said.
Victor Samuel, a law student of Ekiti State
University, also reacting, said: “With the assertion of
the Federal Government, should it sound as if we
rule by positivist theory? This is just a barking from
the government as it would make no appreciative
effort but make the situation more critical.”
Adeola Oluwatayo, a 300 level journalism student of
LASU, said the threat won’t end the strike, but
rather make the lecturers adamant.
Emmanuel Eca, a final year student, University of
Calabar saw the threat by government as an empty
one because it has failed in it’s responsibility. “The
question to ponder over is why the FG has continued
in reneging on its agreements? They could have
averted the strike in the first place by keeping to the
terms of the agreement. They should stop playing
with our future.”
Another student, Macaulay Adeleye, went political in
his reaction when he said: “The threat by the
Federal Government won’t materialize at the end of
the day due to the fact that it is not all institutions
that can embark on such a step and overwhelm the
lecturers.”
Going by the threat, ASUU said it was evident that
the Federal Government was not ready to implement
the agreement it reached with the union.
The treasurer of the union, Dr. Ademola Aremu, said
government would only succeed in wasting the time
of Nigerians and the youths in the country if it failed
to perfect the agreement.




Source: www.akinlexupdate.com