But apparently disillusioned by the union’s hard stance, Benue State
Governor, Gabriel Suswam, said the strike, from all indications, had the
trappings of political undertones to discredit the president, even as
he insisted that his NEEDS Assessment Committee actually released about
N100 billion to federal and state universities for the development of
projects.
Similarly, Vice-President Namadi Sambo has appealed to ASUU to sheathe
its sword and call off the strike in the interest of the students and
the nation, just as the Chairperson of the University of Port Harcourt
(UNIPORT) chapter of ASUU, Prof. Anthonia Okerengwo, warned that any
attempt by the federal government to arm twist the union into re-opening
the universities would only deepen the crisis in the education sector.
The meeting with the president is the outcome of the resolution reached
last week at the meeting between Sambo, who is also the chairman of the
federal government negotiation team, the supervising Minister of
Education, Nyesom Wike and ASUU.
Expressing reservations over the planned meeting, in a statement issued by the Chairman of the University of Uyo (UNIUYO), Mr. Nwachukwu Anyim, said though it welcomed the concern shown by the presidency over the impasse, it noted that “ordinarily, the invitation by the president to the union would give the impression that the resolution of the strike was on the horizon.”
“While we appreciate the present show of concern from the high office
of the presidency, we are however cautious in our optimism that the
meeting between the president of the country and the union would yield
desired results.
“The apparent lack of enthusiasm among our members concerning the
outcome of the meeting is based on government’s lack of commitment
towards the implementation of the 2009 FGN/ASUU Agreement and the
memorandum signed with ASUU,” the union stated.
While expressing hopes that the federal government would see reason to
finally resolve the issues in contention, the union urged well meaning
Nigerians and stakeholders to persuade government to implement the
agreement with the union in order to save Nigeria’s public universities.
According to him, the union has received information that Jonathan intends to direct that universities should be re-opened immediately.
“As a branch, we do not think that such a directive would resolve the
issues at stake. Rather, such a directive would deepen the prevailing
crisis. A show of force by the president could only, at best, result in a
‘pyrrhic victory’.
“We stand on the existing agreement between the union and the federal
government. The Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between government and
ASUU and also the NEEDS Assessment Report should provide the road map
for the resolution of the ongoing strike by ASUU,” the statement
stressed.
However, Suswam, while insisting that the strike was laced with
political undertones, said most universities have gotten the 100 billion
through due process and were progressing with the jobs it was meant
for.
“All agreements between ASUU and my committee have been met and I don’t
know why they are still on strike, I believe the whole issue has been
politicised just to discredit and paint a picture of Jonathan as a
non-performer,” he said.
But faulting Suswam’s claims, Chairman of the Federal University of
Agriculture, Makurdi branch of ASUU, Dr. Celestine Aguoru, after leading
some members of the branch on a peaceful match around Makurdi town in
protest of the strike, accused the Suswam committee of insensitivity to
the union’s call.
Aguoru, who allegedly denied knowledge of the disbursement of the sum
of N100 billion to 59 public universities in the country, said: “As we
speak, government has not released one kobo out of the N100 billion they
claimed they have given the universities; this goes to show the level
of insincerity of the government.”
On his part, while urging the striking lecturers to have a rethink, Sambo said the federal government had already moved the goal post in response to the union’s demands, so ASUU should reciprocate the gesture by calling-off the strike.
The vice-president, who made the appeal yesterday, during the
inauguration of Bauchi State University (BSU), Gadau in Bauchi, said:
“The federal government is rehabilitating its railway system to ease
transportation as well as developing the health, agriculture and the
training of youths on Industrial Computer Technology in order to create
wealth and make room for private investors to invest. All these
developmental plans can only be achieved when we have educated
manpower.”
In another development, Okerengwo, who is the chairperson of the UNIPORT chapter of ASUU, said in a statement in Port Harcourt yesterday, that any attempt by the federal government to jettison the path of honour in its dialogue with the union would spell doom for the country.
The statement said: “ASUU has urged the federal government to follow
the path of honour in its quest to resolve the lingering strike. This
follows allegations in the press that the president intends to order the
re-opening of universities from Monday, November 4, with or without
ASUU.
“Arm twisting has never worked as a dispute resolution strategy. It is
unacceptable to the union that while the president has invited the union
leadership for a dialogue, some overzealous assistants to the president
are clandestinely working to jeopardise the process.”
in ASUU Official Website and ASUU Strike Update
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