₦airaland Forum

Nigeria: ASUU Strike - Blame
Finance Minister
This is a government that signed an agreement
with us on January 24, 2012, to the effect that they
would inject N100 bn as funding into the
universities in the first month; and that before the
end of 2012, they would inject another N300 bn."
Dr Olusegun Ajiboye, ASUU University of Ibadan
branch chairman, August 14, 2013.
Dr Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala increasingly is cutting a
sorry figure as Finance Minister. And nothing has
demonstrated this fact more than her utterances on
the strike by the Academic Staff Union of
Universities, ASUU.
To start with, she announced, as if it was true, that
government cannot pay the N92 billion causing the
present palaver. She turned out to be wrong on
three counts at least - none of which does her
reputation as a global financial expert any good. It
was poor defence and exposed her as someone
who did not do her homework very well before
commenting on a vital national issue.
First, as Dr Ajiboye pointed out, N92 billion
represented a figment of the imagination of the
former World Bank Managing Director. Ajiboye, a
valid representative of all the ASUU creditors, told
us that the amount due to them was N87 billion; not
N92 billion. Even for a wasteful administration,
overpaying by N5 billion would have been
reprehensible. There is a lot of good work which
government can do with N5 billion instead of
throwing it away carelessly. Throwing public money
away carelessly was what led to the fuel subsidy
scam which tarnished her reputation in 2011/2012
when she jumped into the fray without checking her
facts properly.
Second, her statement about government's inability
to pay lacked credibility and was soon discredited
by the President. There is a distinct difference
between "can't pay" and "won't pay". The former
admits of financial weakness or destitution; the
latter connotes willful refusal to honour an
agreement into which government voluntarily
entered.
For the Minister of a government which allowed the
country to be defrauded of over N1 trillion to claim
that government cannot pay N92 billion or less than
one per cent, is an insult to the intelligence of
Nigerians and discredit to government itself. As if
to prove that the Minister spoke, not for
government but herself, the President a few days
after ordered that more than N92 billion be released
to the universities. That order by Jonathan had
elevated Okonjo-Iweala's claim from the realm of
the incredible to a colossal lie. Where will
government find N100 billion to carry out the
President's instructions if it cannot afford N92
billion?
But, all those pale by comparison with Dr Okonjo-
Iweala's real contribution to this awful national
calamity. Read Dr Ajiboye's assertions again and
the astute reader can readily see the genesis of this
whole mess. In January last year, long after the
2013 budget had been presented to the National
Assembly, obviously with no provisions for paying
the N87 billion owed to ASUU, the President, who at
that time was facing a national revolt on account of
fuel price increase from N65 per litre to N141 did
not want another ASUU strike to add to the uprising.
So, government, perhaps ill-advisedly and hastily
promised ASUU N400 billion additional money; that
brought the total debt payable in 2013 to N487
billion.
Call it incompetence or lack of courage and/or
integrity, but given a 2012 budget, from which any
provisions for ASUU had been excluded, promising
eleven per cent of last year's budget to the
academic staff of universities was fraudulent. When
Jonathan Swift, 1667-1745, wrote that, "Promises,
like pie-crusts, are made to be broken",
(VANGUARD BOOK OF QUOTATIONS p203), he must
have had a government like the present one in
mind. It is one government on whose promises
nobody should rely. So 2012 ended without
government honouring its agreements. That was
bad enough.
Any financial officer, involved in budgeting, knows
that when planning the budget for any year, you
must take into account all the bills past due as well
as those likely to fall due during the year - if the
decision is to pay. They can only be ignored if there
is a willful and conscious decision not to pay and to
damn the consequences.
The fiasco this time around has occurred because
the Finance Minister either forgot to make
provisions for paying the N487 billion, not even N92
billion as she claimed, or because she deliberately
excluded those outstanding bills. Forgetting such a
huge liability demonstrates incompetence and
gross negligence - for which the nation is now
paying dearly. Remembering that the debts are
long overdue and deliberately ignoring them is
proof beyond reasonable doubt of lack of budgetary
integrity. It does not require the towering
intelligence of a Harvard graduate to predict the
outcome of that benign neglect of government's
obligations.
Unfortunately for the government, for the Minister
and all the other stakeholders, "All things do help
the unhappy man to fall", according to
Shakespeare, 1564-1616, this years budget is in
shreds. The same Finance Minister has been leading
the government officials telling us about the
shortfall in revenue on account of alleged crude oil
theft. As much as 400,000 barrels a day is stolen -
apparently with government helpless to check the
pillage.
A recent report estimated that oil revenue in July of
this year dropped by 42% compared to the same
period last year. By a cruel twist of fate, the country
had moved from won't pay closer to can't pay.
There is no money in the budget to pay ASUU N487
billion; that is certain. Just as sure is the fact that,
even if Okonjo-Iweala had not been careless, there
probably would have been no money to pay the
entire bill.
Realising the government's partly self-imposed
predicament, Jonathan had approved part payment
of the outstanding debts. Ordinarily, that should
have induced Nigerians to rise up and urge ASUU to
accept the half-loaf and wait till next year for the
balance. However, given government's reputation
as a dead-beat, on whose words nobody can rely,
there has been no outcry against ASUU for refusing
the offer. This is the closest thing to an economic
Mexican stand-off that anyone can imagine and
only divine intervention can resolve the mess -
thanks to the Finance Minister; who should know
better. Nobody, with the minutest experience in
drawing up budgets should have made that
mistake.
The most important question now is: will the 2014
budget reflect the payment due to ASUU - even if
the lecturers accept the offered half-loaf? If it does
not, ASUU's return to the campuses will be short-
lived. They will be out again in 2014.
Finally, the Finance Minister has probably
antagonized the one group every public office
holder should avoid at all costs. University dons are
not only articulate, they are the most vocal group in
the country and the most influential opinion
molders. Henceforth, they will cease every
opportunity to cut her down to size. This episode,
however it ends, has once again raised the
possibility that Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala might not be
around much longer. She was recruited to build
confidence in the government's economic policy
team.
Starting with her staunch defence of the subsidy
removal, based on falsified data, she had stumbled
from one controversy to another. Instead of offering
solutions, she is increasingly perceived as part of
the problem. She probably has not come across that
famous statement by Arthur Dewing in the Harvard
Business Review, October 1923. "Behind the facts
of economics are the facts of psychology..the
emotions of fear and confidence... ". A lot of people
are losing, or have lost confidence in the Minister.
That's bad for her and bad for Nigeria.

Yes dey will

Did anyone got admin thru jamb here?

NLC, PENGASSAN, others move to end
ASUU strike
2013-08-29 23:00:52
The Nigeria Labour Congress on Thursday said that
it would intervene in the face-off between the
striking Academic Staff Unions of Universities and
the Federal Government.
The NLC's move was coming amidst appeals and
condemnation by other similar bodies, including
the Petroleum and Natural Gas Senior Staff
Association of Nigeria and religious leaders, to the
Federal Government and ASUU. While some Lagos
clerics urged the government to end the strike,
PENGASSAN condemned the Federal Government
for not honouring an agreement it had earlier
signed with ASUU.
But the President of the NLC, Mr. Abdulwahed
Omar, who spoke shortly after a meeting of the
National Executive Committee of the NLC in Abuja
on Thursday, said the congress would persuade the
striking university lecturers to resume talks with
the government, with a view to resolving the
lingering issue.
Omar said the NLC had to take the decision to
prevail on ASUU, an affiliate union of the congress,
to resume negotiation with the government
because of its concern about the suspension of
academic activities in the nation's universities for
close to two months.
The NLC president said the congress would also
ensure that deliberations between ASUU and the
government were fruitful.
He said, "It is a very serious issue we are having
on our hands to allow lecturers to be out of the
classrooms for close to two months. We are
currently embarking on consultation with a view to
convincing members of the union to resume
negotiation with the federal government."
However, PENGASSAN, on its part, said it viewed
"with deep concern and discontent the ongoing and
indeed a recurring strike in our nation's ivory
towers by the Academic Staff Unions of
Universities."
The body said it was condemnable that the
ongoing strike had entered its ninth week, without
any sign of its being resolved soon "as parties in
the crisis continue to trade blame and spoil for
more actions on the matter."
A statement by the Public Relations Officer,
PENGASSAN, Seyi Gambo, on Thursday, said, "We
have watched with keen interest as the Dr. Nasir
Issa Faggie-led ASUU declared a three-day warning
strike before it finally embarked on an indefinite
strike action on July 1, 2013, towards ensuring that
the Federal Government honoured the cardinal
agreements reached with the universities lecturers
since 2009."
Similarly, some clerics in Lagos have urged the
Federal Government and ASUU to go back to the
drawing table and arrive at a final agreement so
that universities can reopen.
Vice President, Pentecostal Fellowship of Nigeria,
Lagos State Chapter, Pastor Femi Asiwaju, urged
the Federal Government to address the demands
of ASUU so that students could go back to school.
Also, Imam Luckmon Abdulraheem, Senior
Lecturer, Centre for Entrepreneurship
Development, Yaba College of Technology, Lagos,
urged the Federal Government to meet the
demands of the union so that the country's higher
institutions could be more equipped and conducive
for learning.

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reg number or post it here...08185109680

ASUU Strike 2013 Latest
News Update: Nigerian Student Appeals To
University Lecturers To Agree With FG
The threat to academic stability in the nation’s ivory
towers because of the current strike by the
Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) has
attracted headlines in the dailies. The media has
also been awashed by many criticisms, most of
which have been directed at the Federal
Government in which President Jonathan is the
representational character. However, it appears
many of the critics have failed to consider the other
side of the coin, which is one of the essentials in a
debate on such a controversial issue.
Therefore, the focus of this piece is to examine the
purpose of the present ASUU’s strike and their
sympathizers’ rage against the FG. Firstly, ASUU
came up with the issue of autonomy for
universities. The FG approved the idea of autonomy
so long as the universities would generate internal
revenue to offset their expenditure, including
salaries and allowances. This government’s position
provoked ASUU members.
They poured venom on the government for merely
supporting the idea of autonomy – existence as an
independent body! Having realized the illusion
surrounding university autonomy, members of the
academic union played down their demand. This
raises a question on the sincerity of ASUU’S
demands.
On the issue of Federal Government’s assistance to
state universities, this writer supports the idea of
assisting the state universities. But must the
Federal Government be compelled to render support
to universities established and owned by state
governments? Methink helping state universities
should be as necessary as the state governments
are required to support the federal institution
located in their domain. Needless to say that state
governments collect tenement tax from federal
institutions sited in their states.
The idea of compelling the federal government to
offer help to state-owned universities is borne out
of the fact that academic staff from state
universities are also part of ASUU. The truth must,
however, be told. The Visitors to state universities
are the state governors. Academic and non-
academic staff of state-owned universities are
employees of the state governments. Compelling
the FG to assist state universities no doubt negates
the principle of federalism. It only brings to fore the
over dependence of constituents on the government
at the centre.
The progressive increase of education budget to
26% between 2009 and 2020 is another contentious
issue in the 2009 FG/ASUU agreement. The agitation
for increase to 26% in budgetary allocation, as
recommended by UNESCO for developing nations, is
a legitimate one. So there is need to improve the
current 8% total budget to education by the FG.
However, while the FG should be chastised for its
current 8% budget to education, one needs to
remind discerning readers that in nations where
huge budgetary allocations are committed to
education, members of the academia engage in
scholarly research that help to solve societal needs.
Only a few of our academics engage in fruitful
research capable of solving the needs of our
society. Most of the university teachers set their
target in journal publication that would help them
gain promotion in their academic career even when
such is far from rendering solution to our societal
needs.
Akin to increase in budgetary allocation is the issue
of earned academic allowances for university
teachers. Allowances are stimulants that reinforce
positive inclination towards work. While
government is working out modalities to pay earned
academic allowances to deserving university
teachers, the Dr. Fagie led ASUU is kicking against
such, insisting that allowances should be paid
across board, even when not all lecturers merit such
allowances.
My experience as an undergraduate and post-
graduate student in one of the first generation
universities showed that not all university lecturers
deserve mention in the earned allowance,
particularly the absentees. It is an open secret that
some of the lecturers who are fulltime employees in
the federal universities abandon their duty posts to
shuttle between federal and private universities.
They stagger their responsibilities in multiple roles
as lecturers–in-charge in both public and private
universities sacrificing quality of delivery in the
process, at the expense of unsuspecting students in
public universities.
These ‘abroad’ lecturers hardly attend classes to
teach in the public universities. When they return,
mostly towards the end of the semester, they
engage the students in lengthy, patchy lecture
hours in a bid to cover a course work that ought to
have been concluded before the time of exams. Any
student who dare challenges lecturer’s absenteeism
in public universities are often victimized with a
threat of carry-over of the course handled by the
lecturer or delay in graduation.
At the post-graduate level, the situation is even
more unpalatable. Many post-graduate students fail
to complete their programmes in line with the
academic calendar due to lecturers’ negligence.
They hardly spend quality time to guide and mentor
their students in their long essays. With this
domineering posture, a percentage of the students
either incur extra year(s) or abandon their
programmes out of frustration. If you would not
grow grey hair while undertaking a Ph.D degree as a
student, you have to not only be hard working in
your research pursuit, but also be willing to worship
the deified characters in lecturer’s garb! Let me add
here that a considerable number of the lecturers
have passion for their calling. Those ones always
act right by performing their duties without
compromising standard; they deserve their earned
allowances and should be rightly rewarded.
The influx of private universities became more
pronounced during the regime of ex-president
Olusegun Obasanjo. Yet, thousands of university
applicants seeking admission could not either gain
admission into the universities or afford the luxury
of high fee demands of the private universities. In
fulfilling his campaign promises in 2011, President
Jonathan established nine federal universities and
further established three to make it twelve. The
establishment of federal universities provided
succour to admission seeking candidates. Besides
providing admission to deserving applicants, it also
signaled a massive employment into the education
sector. Jonathan will go into the history books as
one whose regime established most federal
universities in a single tenure.
The prolonged quagmire and the sit tight approach
of ASUU members are having devastating effects
on Nigerian students, undergraduates and post-
graduates. The rot in the education sector as
claimed by ASUU should not be further fertilized by
ASUU’s hard-line posture. The standstill caused by
ASUU/FG impasse could have been resolved if only
ASUU and FG would shift ground and make
concession, at least for the sake of the students
who bear the brunt of the face-off.
Already, the Federal Government has made a
spirited effort to get the striking lecturers back to
work. The government recently released a
whopping 130billion naira in response to ASUU’s
demand for infrastructural development in public
universities.
According to the Secretary to the Federal
Government, Anyim Pius Anyim, 100billion naira is
for infrastructural development, while the remaining
30billion naira has also been disbursed as part of
FG’s attempt to defray the backlog of the earned
allowances.
That means the federal government has shifted
ground in this regard, so what is ASUU waiting for?

NASS, FG urge ASUU to call off
strike
on august 24, 2013 at 1:26 am in news
By LAIDE AKINBOADE
As the industrial action embarked upon by the
Academic Staff Union of Universities, ASUU, enters
it second month, the leadership of the
National Assembly, NASS, and Federal Government,
yesterday, appealed to the lectures to end the
strike.
The NASS and FG made the plea after a meeting
with Pro-Chancellors and Vice-Chancellors of public
universities in Abuja.
They pleaded that the FG has made offers and
commitment to necessitate the resumption of
academic activities in the nation’s public
universities.
According to Senate Chairman on Education,
Senator Uche Chukwumerije, “The Senate
Committee has always sought the required fund for
our nation’s universities.
We plead with ASUU for immediate end of the
strike. We want to plead with lecturers to be more
sensitive to their scale of priorities especially in the
area of education and timely implementations of
agreements. The present ASUU strike must end. It is
time for the nation to take the bull by the horn”.
Chairman House Committee on Education,
Honourable Aminu Suleiman said, “I want to
commend all those who have fought for the proper
funding of our universities in the country. The
Federal Government have also taken position to
identify the needs of all our Federal Polytechnics
and Colleges of Education to stop this problem once
and for all.
“It is gratifying to know that government has
shifted grounds and it is also in our position to
passionately appeal to the aggrieved members of
ASUU in the interest of the system to also make
concession so that students can resume school”.
He noted, “We always agree to disagree we can
always disagree without disrupting the system. We
must appreciate that by prolonging this strike we
are doing more harm to the system and causing
more problems for the country in general.
What government has done is quite in line with the
legislative agenda which we set out for ourselves as
members of House of Representatives. No sacrifice
is too much in ensuring the development of the
sector”.
The SGF, Senator Anyim Pius Anyim, said the FG has
already demonstrated sufficient commitment to the
implementation of 2009 FG/ASUU agreement.
He said President Goodluck Jonathan has set N100
billion to develop infrastructure in 61 universities
and N30 billion to support the university councils in
settling the earned allowances.
The SGF therefore appealed to the university
teachers to call of the two months old strike.

ASUU Strike: FG Urges
Lecturers To Resume
Work
Despite the resolve on Thursday by the
Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU)
to continue the ongoing strike until all
agreements signed in 2009 are
implemented, the federal government
yesterday ordered the lecturers to go back to
the classrooms after it had disbursed of
N30b for Earned Academic Allowances,
(EAA).
The directive, which was issued yesterday by
the secretary to the government of the
federation, Anyim Pius Anyim, during a
meeting between the federal government
and the vice chancellors of the 61 public
universities, stated that “government hereby
urges every staff of the nation’s universities
to return to work as all issues are being
resolved.”
He also urged “every academic member of
staff of the universities that is so entitled to
verify his claim with the university council
and accordingly get paid.”
Anyim added: “From the foregoing, it is
obvious that government has demonstrated
sufficient commitment to the
implementation of the 2009 FG/ASUU
agreement.”
“After series of discussions, government has
now provided N30 billion to support the
university councils in settling the earned
allowances. The fund will be disbursed to the
various university councils which are in the
position to know who is entitled to how much
after verification.”
Anyim revealed that “traditionally,
universities pay this to deserving staff but
because of the amount which ASUU now
claims as arrears, government has decided
to assist the university councils to pay, as
government did not receive any computation
of amount involved until February, 2013.
“By this computation, ASUU is claiming N92
billion as arrears for three years payment
based on percentage range of between 15
and 20 per cent of personnel cost.”
While there is consensus that revitalising the
tertiary institutions is of critical importance
to the nation, Anyim noted that “when put
together, the amount of funds from the
budgetary and non-budgetary sources that
go into the sector is quite huge but without
corresponding impact.”

ASUU Must Call Off Strike
Over N130 Billion FG Proposal “This Strike In
Nigeria Will Soon Be Suspended” – Benue
Governor
Days after President Jonathan approved N400
Billion injection into the Nigerian Universities, the
offer has been lowered to 130 Billion, a move that
caused ASUU officials to reject the proposal again
for the second time.
According to Benue State Governor Gabriel Suswam
who is the Chairman of the Universities Needs
Implementation Committee, ASUU should call off
its strike based on the N30 billion earned
allowances offer and another N100 billion promised
injection into the infrastructures in the 61 public
universities.- He said this to State House
correspondents on Tuesday August 20, 2013.
Nigeria’s Federal Government on Tuesday asked the
Academic Staff Union of Universities, ASUU to
reconsider its rejection of the N130 billion deal it
offered it yesterday to call off the national strike
that has grounded activities in public in universities
across the country for over a month now.
Negotiation between the Federal Government team,
led by Governor Gabriel Suswam of Benue State and
the University lecturers broke down yesterday after
government insisted on the offer of N30 billion for
the earned allowances.
The Government had insisted that it was the
responsibility of the Governing Council of the
Universities to pay the earned allowances.
The offer however was a far cry from the N87 billion
the teachers are asking as the cumulated earned
allowances of staff based on the agreements
reached with the Federal Government in 2009 and
ASUU wasted no time in rejecting the offer.
The Governor added that the federal government
will meet the universities’ councils and vice
chancellors later in the week to brief them on
government decisions and to also certify those that
are really entitled to be paid from the N30 billion to
be released for the earned allowances.
When Will ASUU Call Off Strike In Nigeria
This negotiation seems to be going no where.
So when willl ASUU call off strike?
Most Nigerian university students are tired of
staying at home.

Jonathan directs immediate action to end
ASUU strike
2013-08-20 16:52:51
President Goodluck Jonathan on Tuesday directed
the two Federal Government committees
negotiating the requests by Academic Staff Union
of Universities (ASUU), to take immediate
measures at ending the on-going strike.
The Chairman of the Universities Needs
Implementation Committee, Gov. Gabriel Suswam
of Benue, made this known after a closed-door
meeting of the two committees and other
stakeholders with President Jonathan at the State
House.in Abuja.
Vice-President Namadi Sambo, the Chairman of
the Earned Allowance Committee and the
Secretary to the Government of the Federation
(SGF), Sen. Anyim Pius Anyim were in attendance
at the meeting.
Also in attendance were, Ministers of Education,
Prof. Ruqayyat Rufai, Labour, Emeka Wogu, the
Executive Secretary of National Universities
Commission, Prof. Julius Okogie and the Chief of
Staff to the President, Chief Mike Oghiadome.
Speaking with State House correspondents,
Suswam said that the meeting was summoned by
the President “to take some decisions that would
end the strike''.
“The President has instructed us, as to what to do,
and he has shown a lot of commitments to
flagging off projects worth about N100 billion in all
the universities in the country, about 61 of them.
“So, we are hoping that we will be able to see the
end of the strike very soon.
“At the end of the day, we hope ASUU is satisfied
with the measures that have so far been taken.
“The federal government will also be meeting with
the Universities Councils and Vice Chancellors of
our universities within the week towards updating
them on some of the decisions taken,'' he said.
Suswam said about N100 billion had been
approved by the Federal Government to his
committee to address infrastructure deficit in all
the Universities.

Jonathan directs immediate action to end
ASUU strike
2013-08-20 16:52:51
President Goodluck Jonathan on Tuesday directed
the two Federal Government committees
negotiating the requests by Academic Staff Union
of Universities (ASUU), to take immediate
measures at ending the on-going strike.
The Chairman of the Universities Needs
Implementation Committee, Gov. Gabriel Suswam
of Benue, made this known after a closed-door
meeting of the two committees and other
stakeholders with President Jonathan at the State
House.in Abuja.
Vice-President Namadi Sambo, the Chairman of
the Earned Allowance Committee and the
Secretary to the Government of the Federation
(SGF), Sen. Anyim Pius Anyim were in attendance
at the meeting.
Also in attendance were, Ministers of Education,
Prof. Ruqayyat Rufai, Labour, Emeka Wogu, the
Executive Secretary of National Universities
Commission, Prof. Julius Okogie and the Chief of
Staff to the President, Chief Mike Oghiadome.
Speaking with State House correspondents,
Suswam said that the meeting was summoned by
the President “to take some decisions that would
end the strike''.
“The President has instructed us, as to what to do,
and he has shown a lot of commitments to
flagging off projects worth about N100 billion in all
the universities in the country, about 61 of them.
“So, we are hoping that we will be able to see the
end of the strike very soon.
“At the end of the day, we hope ASUU is satisfied
with the measures that have so far been taken.
“The federal government will also be meeting with
the Universities Councils and Vice Chancellors of
our universities within the week towards updating
them on some of the decisions taken,'' he said.
Suswam said about N100 billion had been
approved by the Federal Government to his
committee to address infrastructure deficit in all
the Universities.

In anticipation of today's meeting
between the Federal Government
and ASUU representatives, the
President of the Academic Staff Union of
Universities, Dr. Nasir Fagge, has stated that
the union will not back down on the ongoing
strike if a compromise is not reached.
Dr. Fagge made this statement in a telephone
interview earlier today. He maintained that the
strike action was not embarked upon just for the
demands, but for the Federal Government to honour
a Memorandum of Understanding which it signed in
2012 with ASUU.
The ASUU President: "Who's talking about demands
here? We presented our demands in 2006 and it
took us three years to get it into an agreement.
"The FG signed the MOU in 2012, that's what we are
asking them to honour, period. The strike action will
not continue only if they implement the MOU we
had last year."
The ASUU President further noticed that "If we call
off the strike when the MOU has not been
implemented, of what use was the strike action in
the first place? We are holding on until everything is
sorted out."
The strike by the lecturers lasts for forty-nine days
if, ASUU does not reach an agreement with the
Federal Government at the meeting scheduled to
hold later today

Amakapritty: Pls i didnt cm for d screnning do i hv hope of gainin admission?

yea dere is still hope
Just have to pray

ASUU May Call Off Strike Tuesday
Despite the Federal Government’s declaration that
it does not have the resources to meet the
N92billion tranche of the 2009 agreement with the
Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU), there
appears to be a fresh hope for the Nigerian
university students to return to school next week.
The Tide authoritatively learnt yesterday that,
barring last minute change in plan, thought and
body language of principal players in the impasse,
the university lecturers may call off the more than
three-month-old nationwide strike action by
Tuesday.
The Tide gathered that the Federal Government’s
NEEDS Assessment Implementation Committee
headed by the Benue State Governor, Gabriel
Suswan, and ASUU representatives have met at the
Benue State Governor’s Lodge, Abuja, where both
parties reportedly agreed on virtually all
contentious issues, which gave impetus to the
industrial action, except one.
Our source, who is a member of the Federal
Government NEEDS Assessment Implementation
Committee and a former Professor at the University
of Port Harcourt, said that the outstanding issue will
be ironed out at the Monday meeting with the ASUU
leadership.
The source said that the meeting was shifted to
allow the committee brief the President, Dr
Goodluck Jonathan while ASUU leadership briefs
members of the union’s National Executive Council
(NEC).
According to our source, after the Monday meeting,
ASUU representatives will still meet members of
the union’s NEC to evaluate all the contentious
issues to facilitate a final decision on whether to
call off the strike or not, and the decision
communicated to the Federal Government
committee as quickly as possible.
The source said that the ASUU meeting on Monday
is expected to ratify all the decisions reached during
negotiations with government, and NEC approval of
the agreement immediately announced.
He predicted that the decision is likely to result in
the announcement of the suspension of the national
strike by ASUU on Tuesday, and a directive that all
lecturers should return to work and resume normal
academic activities immediately.
It would be recalled that the Benue State Governor,
Gabriel Suswan, had earlier this week in an
interview with newsmen, given indications that the
lingering crisis in the tertiary education sector
would be resolved as soon as possible, adding that
almost all outstanding issues have been resolved
amicably.

ASUU Will Wait Until FG Gets
Money, Says Ex-chairman
…Continues Negotiations With FG On Monday
THE Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU)
will sustain its ongoing strike until the Federal
Government gets the money to meet its demands,
an ex-officio member of the union,
Prof. Aloysius Okolie, has said.
Okolie, the immediate past chairman of the union
at the University of Nigeria, Nsukka, told the News
Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Nsukka, Enugu State
Friday that the government should not allow a total
collapse of tertiary education in the country.
But former Vice-Chancellor, University of Ilorin,
Prof. Ishaq Oloyede, has called on the Nigerian
Academy of Science (NAS) and the Nigerian
Academy of Letters (NAL) to intervene in the seven-
week old ASUU strike.
The District Superintendent, West and Central
Africa, Apostolic Faith Church, Rev. Bayo Adeniran,
also called on the Government and ASUU to
expedite action on the settlement of the rift
between them, urging them to remember that
keeping the students out of school would result in
breeding criminals that would further endanger our
society.
Meanwhile, the meeting between the Federal
Government and ASUU in Abuja was postponed to
Monday.
Benue State Governor Gabriel Suswam, who chairs
the universities needs assessment committee, told
newsmen that both parties had rescheduled their
negotiations for Aug. 19.
Suswam, who is the negotiator for the Federal
Government, said that tremendous progress had
been made in the negotiations.
Oloyede, who expressed worry about the lingering
strike, said the two bodies should not fold their
arms and allow the situation to continue.
Okolie argued that no country had attained
enviable height economically and technologically
without adequate funds for the education sector.
He said the sector remained the engine room of
national development. “The National Assembly and
some executive members are paid jumbo salaries
but when it comes to education funding the
government has no money. How will the country be
able to achieve its vision 20:2020 of being among
the 20 leading economies if the education sector is
not well-funded,’’ he asked.
The former chairman solicited the understanding
of the students and their parents, saying the union’s
demand was to ensure quality teaching and learning
in the universities.
“It is unreliable that in some universities student
receive lectures under the trees and in stadium.
Books, laboratory equipment in our libraries and
laboratories are outdated while some politicians
and government officials are wasting money in
building houses in every state capital and buying
fleets of exotic cars. The demands will enable the
universities to produce quality graduates
employable in any part of the world,’’ he said.
Okolie urged the government to see reason in
fulfilling the promise it entered with ASUU in 2009
to enable the students and lecturers to go back to
class.
He said the union was not making a fresh demand
but for the government to implement the
agreement it signed with the union in 2009.
Oloyede said: “These two academies can no longer
afford to watch this development continue since
their major obligation is to promote academic
activities and the education sector in general. I feel
the Nigerian Academy of Letters and the Nigerian
Academy of Science have a lot to do to ensure that
the problem is solved once and for all. The face-off
between the Federal Government and ASUU over
the strike is becoming a perennial one.”
The immediate past Chairman, Committee of Vice-
Chancellors of Nigerian Universities, said
everything should be done to resolve the impasse.
According to Oloyede, the only way out of the
impasse is to go scientific since every other process
has failed to work.
“When I say scientific, I mean it is time to sit down
as a body of intellectuals and get the issues well
thought out in order to arrive at a workable
solution.”
Oloyede, who was recently inducted into the
Nigerian Academy of Letters, said the two
intellectual bodies owed the country a duty to rise
up to the challenge.
Speaking during the 2013 Camp Meeting Concert
Programme which took place at Apostolic Faith
Church Campground, Faith City, Ogun State,
Adeniran said: “The best way to solve this problem
is for the stakeholders to move into effective,
collective bargaining that would bring peace and
harmony to our institutions.
“I am pleading with our government and ASUU to
come together and resolve this prolonged problem
that would not only speak good of our educational
system but also of the entire nation. The more we
move together and encourage a society that thrives
on law and order, the better for the nation. ”

ASUU strike: FG not
bothered because their
children are schooling
abroad – Rep

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Hon. Bimbo Daramola, a member of the
House of Representatives from Ekiti State,
yesterday blamed the ongoing strike by the
Academic Staff Union of Universities on the
Federal government.
Daramola, while speaking with newsmen in
Ado Ekiti, Ekitit State capital on Thursday
noted that the Federal Government has failed
to tackle the rot in the education sector
because their children are all studying
abroad .
His words, “The Federal Government has
been foot-dragging in resolving the present
ASUU strike because their children are not in
any of the Nigerian universities. This is a
failure on the part of the government.”
He also called on the National Assembly to
probe the N186bn given to 15 companies
under Power Airlines Intervention Fund.
According to him, the refusal of President
Goodluck Jonathan to remove the Director
General of Security and Exchange
Commission, Mrs. Arunma Oteh, despite the
recommendation of the NASS, was a violation
of the SEC Act.
He said, “As at today, the NASS is operating
at sub-optimal capacity. That accounted for
what is happening in SEC. The probe into the
activities of SEC is not about Mrs. Arunma
Oteh, it is about SEC as the regulator, and
what it has put in place to restore the
confidence of the people to come back to the
capital market and invest.
“We recommended that
she should be sacked
because she is not
qualified. The law that established SEC states
that whoever will be the DG should have 15
years cognate experience and must be a
financial member. She is still keeping her job
because of ego. The DG of BPE, Bola
Onagoruwa was sacked because Senate said
she was not qualified. So, if the President
loves Mrs. Oteh that much, she can appoint
her as a Minister, as a way of respecting the
law. She must understand that President
Jonathan will leave, no matter how long, but
the law will remain because individuals will
go but the law will remain.”
Daramola also called on the National
Assembly to institute a probe into the PAIF,
an initiative of the CBN and the African
Finance Corporation.
“There is a need to investigate the N186bn
given to 15 companies under Power Airlines
Intervention Fund. This is practically shoving
the nation’s money into the pockets of 15
people.
“This same administration, under President
Goodluck Jonathan, has given stimulus
packages to several kinds of agencies,
individuals and companies of interest under
the PAIF. One organisation received N668m
under the name, Odeingaga Aviation
Services. They gave Caverton Helicopters,
belonging to an individual, andover N600m.
“This country is already grounding. The
manifestations are on the streets and faces
of all Nigerians. The day of reckoning is
coming,” he said.

Pls go for the post utme, u don't have to put all eggs in one basket... U don't have to put all ur mind on jamb coz dey can Bleep u up... A guy scored 204 last year and was given admission the other guy scored 232 and was not given admission u can see the differ. A friend of mine did not come for the last year exam and was given admission...... Pls come if u can..... Does ones saying dat its not compulsory were given admin by jamb.....good luck

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Another round of discussions
and negotiations between
Federal Government’s NEEDS
assessment committee and the
Academic Staff Union of
Universities has begun in the
Federal Capital Territory.
In his opening remarks, the
Chairman of the committee,
Governor Gabriel Suswan of Benue
state expressed hope that the two
bodies will reach an agreement and
suspend the industrial action.
However, the president of ASUU, Dr.
Nasir Fagge said the union is
opened to discussions on the
funding of the education sector in
Nigeria.
It would be recalled that talks
between both parties has hit birk
walls severally with the recent one
earlier in the month, as Professor
Nasir Faggae vowed that the union
would not succumb to any pressure
to call off its six weeks old strike if
all its demands are not met by the
government.
Mr. Fagge told journalists in Abuja
that although negotiations have
continued, there’s nothing yet on
the table. He said the union remains
resolute in sustaining the ongoing
strike action to ensure that the
topical issues affecting the nation’s
university system are tackled
decisively once and for all.
However, the chairman of the
Needs Assessment Committee of
the Nigerian Universities, Governor
Gabriel Suswam of Benue state
says the public holidays have
stalled the smooth progress made
so far, but if all goes according to
plan, the strike may be called off
next week and also assured
Nigerians that the industrial dispute
will be resolved.
The President of ASUU, Professor
Nasir Faggae was not under
pressure to call off the strike,as he
insisted that the union is resolute in
sustaining the ongoing strike action
if the issues in contention are not
met.

Another round of discussions
and negotiations between
Federal Government’s NEEDS
assessment committee and the
Academic Staff Union of
Universities has begun in the
Federal Capital Territory.
In his opening remarks, the
Chairman of the committee,
Governor Gabriel Suswan of Benue
state expressed hope that the two
bodies will reach an agreement and
suspend the industrial action.
However, the president of ASUU, Dr.
Nasir Fagge said the union is
opened to discussions on the
funding of the education sector in
Nigeria.
It would be recalled that talks
between both parties has hit birk
walls severally with the recent one
earlier in the month, as Professor
Nasir Faggae vowed that the union
would not succumb to any pressure
to call off its six weeks old strike if
all its demands are not met by the
government.
Mr. Fagge told journalists in Abuja
that although negotiations have
continued, there’s nothing yet on
the table. He said the union remains
resolute in sustaining the ongoing
strike action to ensure that the
topical issues affecting the nation’s
university system are tackled
decisively once and for all.
However, the chairman of the
Needs Assessment Committee of
the Nigerian Universities, Governor
Gabriel Suswam of Benue state
says the public holidays have
stalled the smooth progress made
so far, but if all goes according to
plan, the strike may be called off
next week and also assured
Nigerians that the industrial dispute
will be resolved.
The President of ASUU, Professor
Nasir Faggae was not under
pressure to call off the strike,as he
insisted that the union is resolute in
sustaining the ongoing strike action
if the issues in contention are not
met.

and Opinion… for the Young Nigerian
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August 13, 2013 1 Reply
ASUU strike: Students mobilise
for protest, plan to mount road
blocks in Lagos
Posted by Y! Staff Contributor
by Isi Esene
Some students have put plan in motion to
conduct a mass protest in Lagos and other cities
in the country to highlight the woes facing
education in the country.
Reports say the students plan to mount road-
blocks in strategic parts of Lagos to register their
anger over the ongoing strike embarked upon by
the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU).
According to the Joint Action Front (JAF), the civil
society group spearheading the protest, it will
kick off at the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC)
office at Yaba, Lagos at 8am on Tuesday and will
also include zonal rallies in Kano, Ibadan, Owerri,
Calabar and Abuja, among others.
According to JAF, the aim is to draw attention to
the bleak future that awaits Nigerian children
due to the neglect of public education “while
children of top politicians and government
officials are trained in private schools in Nigeria
and abroad with funds looted from public
coffers.”
According to the JAF secretary, Comrade Abiodun
Aremu, the protest is not meant to molest
anybody but to force government to pay
attention to the universities lecturers’ demands.
“We have mobilised students concerning today’s
protest; we also plan to make it nationwide,” he
said.

Where can i optain the form

Minister Optimistic on Ending ASUU Strike
Minister of Education, Prof. Ruqayyatu Rufa’i
By Damilola Oyedele
As the indefinite strike embarked upon by the
Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU)
entered its seventh week, the Minister of Education,
Prof. Ruqayyatu Rufa’i, has raised hopes that the
impasse with the government would soon be
resolved, judging from the level of interaction
between both parties.
Rufai, speaking after the mid term policy review
meeting of the Four-year Strategic Plan of the
ministry in Abuja yesterday, disclosed that the
stakeholders’ meeting, which would harmonise all
the demands of the various unions in the university
system would hold in Abuja today.
Benue State Governor and Chairman, NEEDS
Implementation Committee, Gabriel Suswan, would
oversee the meeting.
“In terms of where we are with ASUU, you know we
have been meeting all these while, and
government is talking with their officials to see to
it that we address these challenges," Rufa'i said.
“We have a responsibility and we are working on
that responsibility, we are going to continue
meeting with ASUU tomorrow (today), we hope that
by the end of the meeting, we will go a long way in
resolving the crisis,” she added.
Speaking earlier during the policy review meeting,
the minister reiterated that the sector remains a
critical component to the transformation agenda of
President Goodluck Jonathan.
She identified four issues which should be
addressed in order to achieve the set goals:
strengthening institutional management of
education, teacher education and development,
technical and vocational education and training
(TVET) and Funding, and resource mobilisation and
utilisation.
“Education is key to achieving and sustaining the
goals of a Nigerian society that must develop its
citizens as assets so that they can support the drive
for competitive advantage,’’ Rufa'i said.
She noted that in spite of the achievements being
recorded in the sector, a lot of challenges still
remained unattended to.

ASUU Warns Candidates On Post-UTME
The striking Academic Staff Union of Universities
(ASUU) has warned that successful candidates at the
various 2013 post-UTME examinations to
government owned Universities may not be
recognised if offered admission from the exercise.
ASUU.1The union also described as cheap “political
statement” the pronouncement of Governor Gabriel
Suswam of Benue State that the strike would be
over on Thursday, insisting that the strike would
only be suspended if government implements all the
components in the 2009 agreement and the 2012
Memorandum of Understanding (MoU).
Disclosing these in Minna on Wednesday, the
Chairman of the Federal University of Technology,
Minna, ASUU chapter, Dr. Abdulfatai Jimoh, said that
none of its members would be involved in the
conduct the post-UTME for over 3000 candidates
slated for Friday and Saturday in the institution.
Jimoh, who was briefing journalists on the level of
compliance by his members to the industrial action,
warned that “any student admitted through the on-
going Post-UTME is on his or her own because we
would not recognise or teach such student.”
According to him, “if the management goes ahead to
conduct the post-UTME, none of the lecturers who
are members of ASUU would not participate in the
exercise and the students if admitted would not be
recognized by the lecturers. ”So help Us God.

Sultan of Sokoto, Alhaji Muhammad Sa'ad
Abubakar III
By Mohammed Aminu and Damilola Oyedele
The Sultan of Sokoto, Alhaji Muhammad Sa'ad
Abubakar III, Monday frowned on the way Muslims
were being tagged as fundamentalists in the
country, saying suicide bombers were not
representing Islam but were mere criminals, who
should be dealt with according to the laws of the
land.
He also appealed to the Academic Staff Union of
Universities (ASUU), to call off the strike and
embrace dialogue with the federal government in
order to bring an end to the impasse.
Speaking during a dinner with journalists in his
palace in Sokoto Sunday night, the monarch stated
that Islam abhorred terrorism and the taking of life
of innocent people without due process, adding that
there was no plan whatsoever to emasculate any
religion in the North.
The Sultan, who expressed sadness over the strike
embarked upon by ASUU, lamented that students
spend seven years in some universities and
graduate without acquiring education.
He stressed the need for ASUU and the federal
government to go back to the negotiating table,
with a view to finding a lasting solution to the
problem.
"We are now back to square one and we seem not
to have a solution at hand to solve the problem. As
fathers, we will continue to plead. So, I am pleading
with ASUU to call off the strike and for the federal
government to be given a chance to fulfil its
obligation.
"I believe ASUU and the federal government should
give dialogue a chance. We must find a common
ground. Negotiation is a give and take and people
should negotiate based on mutual respect.
"I don't believe in strike action because students
suffer in the end. We want to see education move
to greater heights in this country. So, this should be
an issue of give and take and what ASUU will give
should be what the federal government will be able
to afford. So, I call on ASUU to suspend the strike
action, resume talks and go back to the negotiating
table so that we can make progress,” he advised.
But despite the several appeals ASUU has said the
federal government had not shown any
commitment to warrant the suspension of the
strike, which was currently in its sixth week.
According to the ASUU Chairman (UniAbuja
campus), Dr. Clement Chuks, although some
discussions were ongoing, there were no
negotiations as the union expected nothing less
than the implementation of the already existing
2009, Agreement.
Chuks in a telephone conversation with THISDAY
Monday, said there was no visible commitment on
the part of the federal government even from the
discussions held so far.
He maintained that ASUU stood by the existing
agreement and demands its implementation.
Chuks dismissed the recent pronouncements by
some government officials that the strike would
soon be called off.
He urged the government officials to play their part
and see to the implementation of the agreement.
"Maybe, they are just being prophetic, they cannot
call the strike off for us. There are procedures for
embarking on strike and calling it off," he said.
Meanwhile, the Sultan has maintained that there
was no compulsion in religion, and as such, no true
Muslim would use force to compel others to convert
to Islam.
"So, if anybody wants to wage a war to compel
others to convert to Islam whereas Almighty Allah
said in the Holy Quran that there is no compulsion
in religion, then that person is not a true Muslim
and not acting for Islam.
"Therefore, I want to call on all those who think that
what is happening in the North in particular is a
plan to exterminate other religions, to have a
rethink because there is no plan to emasculate any
religion.
"It is indeed sad that Muslims are being tagged as
terrorists in the media in this country. I have never
heard of Christian terrorists but all we hear in the
media is Muslim terrorists, when it happens to be a
Muslim. This issue is everywhere in the world
where people are tagged Islamic fundamentalists.
"As long as we continue to label other people
negatively because of the religion they belong to or
certain activities being done by a particular religion,
then we will continue to have a problem. Why not
treat such terrorists as common criminals and deal
with them according to the laws of the land?" the
monarch asked.
Speaking further, he said leaders should give
justice to the people in the discharge of their
duties.
On the 2015 elections, the monarch urged Nigerians
to pray to God to give them leaders who would take
the country out of her present situation, adding: "As
traditional leaders, we will always keep on praying
to God to give us leaders that will lead us right and
take us to the promised land."
The Sultan also commended the Peace and
Reconciliation Foundation of Nigeria led by Mr
Solomon Dalung, for its efforts in promoting peace
and unity in the North, especially in Kaduna and
Plateau States.
"These youths are doing what the elders should do.
The elders in the North are busy fanning the embers
of hatred, instability, disharmony, ethnicity and
religion for selfish reasons. It is sad that these
elders are in the comfort of their homes, while the
sons and daughters of the poor are being killed.
"So, I am happy that these youths have taken it
upon themselves to correct things that are not
going well in the polity. These youths are working
to ensure that there is peace, stability and unity
among different ethnic groups and religions in the
North and I commend them for that," the Sultan
stated.

Varsities have started pulling out of ASUU strike
which started in July 1, 2013.. FG/SCE gave a go
ahead today for uninterested Varsities to opt-out
of strike since ASUU is adamant in the
negotiations. FG begged ASUU National to slash
their 2009 demands to 3 out of the list, ASUU says
no that all must be fulfilled. Looking at it, it may
take a long time for the 2009 demands to be
actually fulfilled, meaning we may have to stay at
home for a long time. Adamawa university has
pulled-out. Adamawa ASUU even confronted ASUU
national body for going on strike without due
process. Akanu ibiam varsity just announced
theirs on NTA.
We're awaiting more varsities. Let's keep our
fingers crossed & pray

GOD IS IN TOTAL CONTROL

enyo001: cumin out wen?

Soonest

Iphiedazzle: R u in sch nw?

Yea

3rd list and supplementry list is coming out!!!!! Some dept are on strike till 13th............reg is on wif law student also screnning