By
The Academic Staff Union of Universities, ASUU, which has been engaged in a six month strike action to press home its long-standing demand for a comprehensive overhaul of the Nigerian education system is sticking to its position that the government has not demonstrated enough good faith to honour its agreement with it and as such it would be premature for the group to call off its strike.
Equally, the association is taking umbrage over threats from the government as it says that President Goodluck Jonathan threat to sack its members contravenes the International Labour Act and convention.
The ASUU coordinator, Ilorin Zone, Dr. Ayan Adeleke, who stated this in Ado Ekiti on Tuesday, also described the sack threat as “empty one”.
He spoke after members of the union met at the Ekiti State University, Ado Ekiti.
He said, “The Internal Labour Organisation Act and Convention protects workers who embark on strike. This is an inalienable right of every aggrieved worker”.
He added that it was disheartening that the FG failed to release N200bn for provision of facilities in the nation’s public universities.
He added, “President Goodluck Jonathan was not the first President to issue such threat. Former President Ibrahim Babangida issued it in 1992, while the late Gen. Sanni Abacha did the same in 1996, but they all failed.
“The Minister of Education, Nyesom Wike, said it was a directive of the vice-chancellors. But the second day, the VCs came out to deny that the directive came from them. We believe it was an empty threat.
Meanwhile, authorities of the University of Calabar and the University of Port Harcourt on Tuesday ordered students to resume for academic activities.
While UNICAL asked its students to resume on Thursday (today), UNIPORT directed that the institution be reopened on Sunday, December 8.
Comments