ASUU agrees to suspend strike, states three conditions

According to reports from the Nigerian Eye, Nigerian
university lecturers have agreed to end the five-month
old strike, if the federal government says yes to three of
it conditions.
These conditions will be made known to President
Goodluck Jonathan today and if all parties come to
agreement, the strike will be called off.
ASUU has forbidden its local chapters and zonal
chairman from talking to the media, until the end of the
session. But a source, who was part of the ASUU session,
which was held at Mambayya House in Kano, revealed
the conditions as:
•Commitment from the President that any review or
reconsideration or renegotiation of the 2009 Agreement
will not substantially affect the pact which is the cause of
the ongoing strike;
•Immediate payment of all outstanding salary arrears
and allowances of varsity teachers without victimization;
and
•A written commitment from the President that the
Federal Government will commit N225billion annually to
the funding of universities for the next four years.
There is a fourth condition, which is said to be “personal”
to ASUU.
The source said: “Our leaders are meeting with the
President on Monday to table these conditions. Once the
President accepts these three terms, the strike will be
called off.
“In principle, members voted about 60-40 per cent to call
off the strike, but they added a caveat – that ASUU
leaders should extract a commitment (signed and sealed)
from the President.”
It became imperative for ASUU to makes these demands,
as it became obvious that the FG wanted the 2009
Agreement to be renegotiated.
“If ASUU had accepted to renegotiate the entire
Agreement , it means there will be no basis for the
ongoing strike. The worst that can happen is either
having the abridged version of the 2009 Agreement or a
phased implementation of the document,” the source
added.

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ASUU strike: Union rejects FG’s N200bn offer

The end to the ongoing strike by the Academic Staff Union Of Universities, ASUU, might not be in view yet, as the union has rejected the offer of N200 billion by the Federal Government. The government had earlier offered N130 to the protesting lecturers in order to resolve the impasse; the offer was also increased to N150 billion, all of which ASUU rejected, insisting that government must implement the 2009 agreement. The union asserted that going by the 2009 agreement, government is supposed to have injected N500 billion by the end of 2013, with another N500 billion by 2014. Nassarawa State University Keffi (NSUK) branch chairman of the Union, Dr. Thephilus Lagithe stated that the actual amount in the 2009 agreement was N1.3 trillion to be paid over a period of four years. He said, “Recently, they called us and said instead of the 100 billion, we are giving you N150 and recently they said from that 150 billion, they are going to make it 200 billion. But these are just promises. Speaking further, he said, “last year, they were supposed to inject N100 billion and this year N400 billion. Then next year, N500 billion. But from all indication, the government is not even serious about injecting money into the education sector. It said the N100 billion which the government had earlier promised to give the union was supposed to have been paid in 2012. It said if the strike continues to 2014, the money will then rise to N900 billion.

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Honour agreement with ASUU – Former students tell FG

A group of former students under the aegis of Past Rivers State Students’ Leaders’ Forum have called on the Federal Government to honour the agreement it had with the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU). The ex-students’ leaders appealed to the government to show more commitment towards resolving the impasse in order to save the education system from collapse. Chairman of PARSLEAF, Mr. Amakiri Amakuro, told newsmen in Port Harcourt that the disagreement between ASUU and the Federal Government would have been resolved if government had acted quickly on the earlier notice from the Union. Amakuro also charged ASUU, other unions in the nation’s tertiary institutions and stakeholders in the educational sector to embrace peace and return to the negotiating table with government in the interest of the country. He said, “We appreciate the Federal Government’s appeals for understanding and commitment to meeting ASUU’s demand. We, however, call on the Federal Government to make further commitment to honour the agreement it entered into with ASUU in order to save the educational system from total collapse. “We also call on the leadership of ASUU to explore other means of engaging with government in drawing their attention, as the option of strike is no longer fashionable and acceptable. “If strike must be used, it should not last for more than a few hours as is the practice in developed countries. We passionately appeal to the Federal Government, ASUU and other stakeholders in the educational sector to sheathe their swords,” he said.

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NANS threatens action against ASUU, says strike has been politicized

The National Association of Nigerian Students, NANS, has threatened to sue the Academic Staff Union of Universities, ASUU, to court over the three-month old strike. The National President of NANS, Yinka Gbadebo issued the threat in his address at the first senate meeting organised by the union at the University of Port Harcourt. Gbadebo accused ASUU of making outrageous demands from the Federal Government. He claimed that ten out of eleven demands made by ASUU had been met, adding that the only last demand which had to do with the issue of earned allowance should not be the basis to keep students at home. “They are asking for change. Change must first start with our lecturers. They are clamouring for earned allowance, they are clamouring for responsibility allowance. Very very soon, we may resort to take laws into our own hands. Ads by safesaver “While on strike, lecturers are still using government properties. They are still living in government accommodations, driving government cars. If you are fighting government, go and return all government properties. “We are saying, where is the interest of the Nigerian student captured in all these demands. In all of the demand of ASUU, government has fulfilled 10 out of 11. What more do they want? How long will they continue to negotiate our future”, he said. The students leader also alleged that ASUU had been compromised by the opposition party stressing that ASUU members were often seen with members of the All Progressive Congress, APC, in Lagos. Gbadebo, however, vowed to sue ASUU to court if the strike continued. “We are going to take ASUU to court. The issues are very clear. Every right thinking Nigerian knows that this issue of ASUU strike has been politicized and that is the truth. Each time Federal government finishes meeting with the lecturers, the next thing you will see is ASUU leaders meeting with APC leaders in Lagos. What for? He alleged. The NANS president finally called on ASUU to devise another means of agitating for their demands.

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