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Nigerian University lecturers, ASUU, begin nationwide indefinite strike
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The lecturers accuse the government of violating an agreement.

Nigerian University lecturers, under the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU), on Monday began a nationwide indefinite strike.

The ASUU National President, Isa Fagge, told journalists of the development at a news conference via telephone at the University of Lagos.

He said that the decision to have the strike was reached at the National Executive Committee (NEC) meeting of ASUU held at the Olabisi Onabanjo University, Ago Iwoye, on Monday.

Mr. Fagge told journalists that the strike, which takes immediate effect, will be comprehensive, total and indefinite’’. He said that the action was as a result of the inability of the Federal Government to implement some of the issues contained in a 2009 agreement it had with ASUU.

The unionist said that the government had also reneged on the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) it entered into with the union in December 2011.

“Before now, there has been this issue of the implementation of the key issues contained in the 2009 agreement we entered into with the Federal Government.

“We have had several meetings and deliberations to let government understand why these issues must be resolved but it is like the more we meet and deliberate, the messier the issue gets.

“One of the issues that needed to be addressed was basically that of the Academic earned allowance. This earned allowance, and other issues, had dragged on until government then agreed to write an MOU with the union.

“But as we speak, there has been nothing to show that government was committed to an MOU it also willingly wrote to better the university sector.

“It is in this regard that we are embarking on an indefinite strike,” he said.

Mr. Fagge said that having waited patiently for the government to swing into action to no avail, the NEC of the union decided to meet, deliberate and come up with the action.

Karo Oghenekaro, the Chairman of the University of Lagos chapter of the union, told journalists that government’s penchant for reneging on agreements was not acceptable.

He said that government entered into the MOU with ASUU after the union suspended its strike two and a half years ago.

Mr. Oghenekaro explained that the government had made essential laws on some of the burning issues such as the 70 years retirement age of lecturers as well as the pension commission.

According to him, government, however, is not forthcoming with other pressing demands such as the earned allowance.

He noted that the academic earned allowance was expected to take care of excess work load carried out by the lecturers such as examination officers, deans and supervision of post graduate, masters and other programmes.

“I want to say that not all lecturers are entitled to this allowance, but as we speak, not a single lecturer under the aforementioned categories has received any such allowance.

“What we are demanding as the earned allowance is not more than N12, 500 per person, yet government is saying it cannot afford such.

“Government was actually thinking of the cost implication of everything but after much deliberation, government agreed to sign the MoU and said it had set aside N100 billion to take care of all the burning issues.

“However, government came back to us and pleaded for a reduction and we decided to step the cost down to 80 per cent. That not enough, it also appealed for another reduction to 50 per cent.

“This 50 per cent, government said, will be a one off payment; that it was from that 50 per cent that we shall take care of everything, including the earned allowance.

“This did not go down well with us and so we decided to meet and take the decision we have just taken,” he said.

According to him, the Nigerian tertiary education sector is where it is because of inadequate funding. He said that one of the reasons why there were no foreign scholars in the system was because of the poor wages.

“When we agitate about earned allowance, we are also using it to as a means of attracting foreign scholars so it is not all about our personal interest.

“We are also using it to address the issue of brain drain in the system. As it were, our best brains are all drifting into industries and other sectors that will pay them better, rather than ploughing back into the academic sector.

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u guys should jst pray d strike should nt hold cos 4rm d way tinz r goin nw we wil b going on strike on Monday 80% sure

i hardly login on 2go nw bt incase u wanna reach me u cn cal me on 08065199279.may God help us.

i heard dat ASUU members in futmx had a meetn yestrdy n frm d outcom of d meetn, d strike is goona start nxt week

hadizadeezy: wats up rex,is it rily goin to hold

my dear i think we should jst wait til friday or monday o cos ASUU postponed there meetn d oda day frm on 17th to on 28th (dis week friday). though most student in my scul said d strike might nt hold bt my sista in BUK ws teln me yestady dat frm wot she is hearn d strike may hold so i think we should jst calm down n c wot d outcome of their meetn wil b.

some peeps have been bringn d idea of caln back osazie odemwingie back 2d super eagles 2 support our attackers bt i dont tink its a better idea cos i neva see d impact of hs game on our match shortly b4 he ws removed 4rm d squad. so guys do u rily tink we need hm back 2d squad?

a frnd of mine studyn pharmacy @ abu told me d form is nw on sale from 2day though av nt confirmd it sha bt i wil advise u guys 2 go 2d bank n check again.

Rahmat Shola: is it dat d form is not yet out or is out but not on sale. bcoz havn't bein able 2 purchase one

nt yet out

Abdul G Aminat: pls i wnt 2 ask if a.b.u post utme form is out

some peepz said its out bt i dont tink so cos no 1 hv gotn d pin 4rm any bank yet n neither d post ume info or registration link is on Abu website.jst keep following ds thread 4 any latest update.

guys pls don't send money to anybody 2 get u d pin if u don't knw him or her cos on nairaland anytn cn happen. i'm talkn 4rm xperience o.....jst b patient cos i knw abu wil b aware of d situation on ground n they wil do somtn abt it. jst an advise.

ayymah: No matter hw cheap wat he got is,it myt b beta ad more special dan d blackberry.she myt nt b a fan if blackberry bt loves wat u got for ha

4 real....love dat

ayymah: U dnt hav to get ha smtin expensiv or flashy.smtin very simple z enof no matter hw small it z jst try it first & c wat hapns. I asure u dat it myt b d most special gift she hav neva had b4

hmmmm.....i think u av a point

musty001: i`m very sure d post-utme will b POSTPONED.....hahahahaha!!!!-watch it

same wit me

team apc....as long as its gonna b buhari

ok i wil tel keshi

hadizadeezy: anya kuwa oga rex sulaiman

......u knw i dont undastnd dat

guys i dont tink d deadline 4 reg wil stil b on d 30th of ds month....since many candidates cnt even gt there pin 4rm d bank n no link on their website 4 registration. wot do u think?

mcheeeeew birthday ko birthday ni.......wel b4 u cal me bad belle let me jst gv u a kisssssssssss though av nt brushd sha

hadizadeezy: damnnnnnnnnnnnn pls cant find anytin of such online ooo

hmmmmmm u ba? dont worry abu wil solve dat probs soon bt am nt gonna play wit u again oooo.

Jsplash: Helo every1!...
I have missed alot o,d info. about post-ume is even out?.me i have been down, due to ill health i'm getting better @tleast i can operate my phone.
Thunderous shout-out!!! to Rexsul, Lateef,id,musty,Sparkle,Bukky, Hadiza nd co

hey sorry 4 dat bro. gud 2 knw u r gettn beta nw.

Jewel Bukky: Helooo my gud ppl. Pls hs any1 obtain d pin? It's monday alrdy, anytin new on ABU's website?

ur admission is 4 real ds yr so jst relax a.b.u is gonna do somtn abt it soon ok......bt where av u been

test week seriously loadn n preparing 4 post ume again.....hmmm....nt 4ny @ ol o.

sonny167: Abu has not yet release the post ume registration portal so banks can not just start selling the pin. So lets hop for monday by God grace....hw u doing all...?

true talk bro.

what is d differences btwn air craft n witch craft? y dont we jst hire those indigbo witch abee dem 2 no go watch Super Eagles

guys wahala dey o am havn test d day faculty of pharmaceutical science r supposn 2 write exam and missn d test means automatic carry over 4 me. jst wish dey shift d date a little bit o els am gonna mis d post ume n ol my effort wil b in vain

take dat: Agreed that Tinubu's blueprint is moribund and incapable of salvaging any economy,is it that of this administration already with an economy on a debt cliff,an economic boom with GDP yearly growth rate of around 7% yet no concrete and visible human and material development(A paradox of growth without development), fiscal and monetary policies most often working at cross -purposes and corruption a permanent feature of this administration that will salvage our economy? Smh

i think u av a point there

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AGENDA TO SAVE NIGERIA: To hell with APC blueprint – Presidency 0
June 14, 2013 | 12:40 am
Headlines, Top Stories
By Soni Daniel, Regional Editor, North
ABUJA — Barely 72 hours after former Lagos State Governor, Asiwaju Bola Tinubu, chastised President Goodluck Jonathan administration’s poor leadership, the Presidency, yesterday, fired back at him, describing his economic blueprint for Nigeria’s growth as obsolete and incapable of salvaging any economy.
Besides, the Presidency accused Tinubu of always playing to the gallery for cheap political gains without adding value to the people in anyway.
The ACN leader had on Monday addressed the House of Commonsin London, during which he highlighted major political and economic challenges facing the country; in a lecture he called “Leadership, National Development and the People”.
Apart from describing Jonathan’s administration as lacking the needed capacity to move the nation forward, the APC chieftain also accused the government of taking Nigeria backwards.
Tinubu and democracy
The Senior Special Assistant on Public Affairs to President Jonathan, Dr. Doyin Okupe, in hisreaction, yesterday, described Tinubu as an autocratic leader, lacking in democratic credentials to talk about leadership and goodgovernance.
Okupe noted with dismay the claim by the former governor thatthe Jonathan administration was drawing the country backwards, boasting that the current leadership had done more than any other in Nigeria’s near 53 years of nationhood.
The SSA also described Tinubu’s economic blueprint, “Third Path” as moribund and incapable of taking any country forward and accused him of trying to delve into an area he has little or no knowledge about.
Okupe dismissed as verbose and lacking in statistical support, Tinubu’s recommendation that nolarge nation has ever attained growth without government running deficit budget to build required infrastructure.
The Presidential aide noted: “It is clear from Tinubu’s paper that theACN chieftain and his party lack a fundamental understanding of both democratic norms and soundeconomic judgment.
“Tinubu’s Third Path blueprint for economic transformation is nothing but a hollow ideological concept. As the ACN national leader has failed to realize, the world has moved away from ideologies in favour of pragmatic and result-oriented policies, whichimpact meaningfully on the lives of the people.
“Nations like Russia and China, which spearheaded Communism, one of the great ideological movements of the 20th century, have since embraced market reforms, and states in the westernhemisphere have also dumped pure capitalism for more people-oriented policies with less dogmasand economic clichés.
“We are sorry to say that the so-called “Third Path” is a cluelesspath to socio-economic abyss as it remains essentially a theoreticalproposition with no evidence of success either in history or contemporary climes,” Okupe said.
Tinubu not a patriot— Okupe
The presidential aide also condemned the ACN chieftain for trying to portray himself as a patriot, noting that his actions and utterances were skewed and not in sync with actions of patriots around the world.
“This is why we regrettably disagree with Senator Tinubu’s labelling of himself as a patriot. As everyone well knows, patriots are concerned with the image, the well-being and survival of their countries and will do everything in their power to protect same even if they have political differences with their home governments. They do not condone terrorism neither do theytravel around the world denigrating their country,” he added.
He pointed out that the former governor had no justification to criticise the rising wave of insecurity in parts of the North, having opposed the recent declaration of state of emergency by the Presidency to checkmate terrorism in the region.
Okupe said the country would have been consumed by terrorismif Nigerians were to follow the advice of the ACN leader and his CPC counterpart, who all asked the National Assembly to reject the imposition of a state of emergency in Adamawa, Yobe and Borno states.
Asking Nigerians to ignore the former governor’s undemocratic antics, Okupe stated that Jonathan had done his best to provide the nation with the needed people-oriented leadership based on the rule of law.
He said: “As any keen and discerning observer of Nigeria’s democracy will attest, Senator Tinubu and his ACN are completely lacking in democratic temper. The ACN as a party is notonly undemocratic but blatantly autocratic and makes no pretences about it.
“We recall that only recently, its National Chairman, Chief Bisi Akande, haughtily asserted that whosoever is not pleased with thenational leadership of the party’s way of running the ACN and picking its candidates was free to leave the party.
“It is clear that ACN leadership’s understanding of democracy is tainted and skewed by his undemocratic mindset, which has seen him exert authoritarian control over the party. With such disposition, it is easy to understand his warped and defective reading of the democratic situation in Nigeria.
“To assert as he did in that paper that Nigeria under the leadership of President Goodluck Jonathan isa dysfunctional democracy is not only the height of ignorance but equally of unbridled mischief.
“Unlike the ACN chieftain would have us believe, Nigerian democracy does not stand in any dark and uncertain corridor neither is it authoritarian. Rather, it looms large in the minds of Nigerians for its respect for fundamental human rights and the rule of law.
“For followers, local and international of Nigeria’s democratic journey since 1999, there is unanimity of opinion that no administration has equalled the Jonathan administration in theobservance of and respect for thehallowed principles of maintenance of rule of law, free press, sanctity of the electoral process, separation of powers and respect for public opinion. President Goodluck Jonathan’s opening up of the democratic space through institutional reforms clearly marks him out as a committed democrat.”
“It is trite to observe that President Jonathan is perhaps themost unjustifiably maligned leaderin the history of Nigeria with critics using their overriding influence on Print and Electronic Media freely and in many cases unfairly to take pot-shots at him.
“It is common knowledge that no administration has been abused, lied against and harangued like the present administration under Jonathan. Yet, there have not been any reprisals or harassment from government agencies. Instead, the administration has encouraged free speech and opengovernment. It is on record that despite the avalanche of criticismsand attacks in the media, journalists and their organizationshave not been hounded or closed down as we witnessed in recent past.
The Presidency, which advised Tinubu to adopt a higher standardof integrity as a former governor and political leader, dismissed his London speech said to have been delivered to the House of Commons as an event put together by a private concern owned by a Nigerian who only rented a room within the premises of the British parliament.
“Good leadership must be distant and distinct from lies and deliberate falsehood intended to fool the public. For Leadership, integrity counts!” he warned.


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where r my phamaceutical science aspirants

Jewel Bukky: amen! Weldone

hey long tym.....wots up wit u?

hallo guys! sorry 4 nt postn frequently. there is a serious rumuor spreadn in my scul nw about ASUU planning 2 go on an indifinate strike which may starts on d 17 of ds month and 1 of our lecturer also told he wil nt come 4 hs class ds weekend (cos we r supposn 2 av hm on saturday) as he wil be going 2 ile ife 2 attend ASUU meeting of which they might decide 2 go on strike after the meeting so i think that might be d reason y ABU hav'nt provide any link for candidates 2 complete there registration cos incase d strike hold then definately d post ume wil av 2b postponed. so lets jst exercise patience n c wot happen 4rm nw til Monday. may God help us.