Asuu Strike update: Our Effort would have been wasted if.....- Asuu

Striking lecturers in the nation’s public universities on Monday made good their decision not to return to work as directed by the Federal Government.

The striking teachers also refused to sign the attendance registers in their respective institutions as ordered by the government.

They said they were only waiting for the sack letters the Federal Government threatened to give them if they did not return to work.

In many of the universities visited by our correspondents, only administrative offices opened for business while the lecture rooms were empty. Particularly, lecturers’ offices remained shut.

Among some of the universities visited by our correspondents were the University of Lagos, University of Ibadan, Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria, University of Calabar, Nnamdi Azikwe University, Awka, and the University of Uyo.

Others are Obafemi Awolwo University, Ile-Ife, Federal University of Agriculture, Abeokuta and the Olabisi Onabanjo University, Ago-Iwoye.

The Supervising Minister of Education, Nyesom Wike, had urged the striking lecturers to return to work or on before December 9 or risk being sacked.

But the leadership of ASUU had remained unfazed by the FG’s directive and threat. They accused the government of insincerity in the resolution of the face-off.

At the NAU, Awka on Monday, though some of the lecturers were on campus, they did not teach. The institution’s Faculty of Social Sciences, for instance, had its classrooms and laboratories shut.

The hostels were opened but students had yet to return to the campus.

At UI, only a few lecturers were on the campus. They neither taught nor signed the attendance register.

The institution’s chapter of ASUU earlier in the day had sent a message to its members, urging them to be calm and resolute in their demands.

The National Treasurer of ASUU, Dr. Ademola Aremu, said they would have wasted their time and effort if they caved in and returned to work under threat.

He said, “How can you call off a strike when there is nothing to show for it? The government is not qualified to call off the strike. Our union is awaiting the government to state all it has done in black and white. However, it is a serious insult on us for the government to be harassing us with sacking threat. We are not casual workers or labourers. Our research work has been ongoing.”

Also, at UNICAL and at the Cross River University of Science and Technology, students and their teachers stayed away from the schools.

The UNICAL ASUU Chairman, Dr. James Okpiliya, insisted that the Federal Government must meet the lecturers’ demands before the strike could be suspended.

Lecturers also shunned work at OAU even though  a few of the students were on the campus.

One of our correspondents observed that many of the students who returned to campus were those residing within Ife and its environs.

The Chairman of ASUU at the university, Prof. Adegbola Akinola, who spoke to one of our correspondents, said that the strike was still on.

He said, “Our union did not close the universities, what we did was to withdraw teaching services and they will remain withdrawn until the government properly documents the agreement reached with us on November 4, 2013.”

Lectures did not also hold at ABU. The two campuses of the institution at Samaru and Kongo had only a negligible human presence as of Monday.

Lecturers’ offices and lecture halls were shut, just as the students did not show up as directed by the government.

ASUU Chairman, Dr. Mohammed Kabir-Aliyu, told journalists that they had yet to call off the action.

The UNIJOS ASUU chapter Chairman, Dr. David Jangkam, said striking teachers in the university were just waiting for their sack letters from the Federal Government.

Jangkam said, “We are waiting for their sack letters. Any government that is toying with education is not worth its salt. We expect firm commitment in solving the issues, but if the government is playing to the gallery, it is very unfortunate.”

When our correspondent visited the various departments, only a few departments had opened registers as demanded by the governing council.

There were no studies too at UNIUYO, UNIJOS, FUNAAB, LASU and UNILAG as lecturers boycotted classes.

Meanwhile, President Goodluck Jonathan, on Monday, urged the striking teachers to call off the industrial action.

The President, who spoke at the All Nigerian Judges Conference organised by the National Judicial Council in Abuja, on Monday, said the industrial action would prevent the country from achieving the Vision 2020 target of becoming one of the top 20 economies in the world by 2020.

Although the Federal Government had recently threatened to sack the lecturers for going on strike, Jonathan noted that ASUU had the right to embark on the industrial action.

He said, “This administration recognises and respects the right of workers, including the right to embark on industrial action to press home their demand and have taken concrete steps to address the grievances of ASUU.

“I therefore use this occasion to call on ASUU to call off its strike.”

“With this Nigeria’s quest to become one of the world’s 20th  largest economies by the year 2020 cannot be achieved in an atmosphere of industrial disharmony.

“Nigeria’s geopolitical history has been characterised by incessant labour dispute and industrial action.

“While views may differ on the utility of industrial action as a means of advancing the collective interest of workers in the polity, it is an unassailable fact that labour and industrial harmony is sine qua non to the socio-economic development of any nation, Nigeria inclusive.”

Asuu Strike Update:Asuu Insists Strike Continues, Accused Fg Of Insincerity

PUBLIC university lecturers on Sunday insisted  that they would not return to the classrooms  on Monday (today).

They also accused the Federal Government of insincerity in its bid to resolve its dispute with the Academic Staff Union of Universities.

The President of ASUU, Dr. Nasir Fagge, confirmed this on Sunday via a Short Message Service  to an enquiry by The PUNCH.

The Federal Government had through the Executive Secretary of the National Universities Commission, Prof. Julius Okojie,  deferred its earlier ultimatum to the lecturers to resume work on Monday (today) or risk being sacked. The shift  was to enable them to participate in the burial of Prof. Festus Iyayi, a former president of ASUU on Saturday.

Before this , the Supervising  Minister of Education, Nyesom Wike, had advised  the striking lecturers to return to work on or before December 4 or face dismissal.

But ASUU had in a news bulletin to its chapters  after its  meeting in Ekpoma, Edo State on Sunday,  said   the Federal Government had not met its  conditions for suspending the over five months’ strike.

When asked by one of our correspondents   if  the members of the union would go back to work today and if they  had confirmed the N200bn the Federal Government claimed to have deposited in a special account at the Central Bank of Nigeria, Fagge simply  replied, “No to both questions.”

ASUU  had in the bulletin insisted  that the government threat  to sack its members would not break the union’s resolve  to pursue its action to a logical conclusion.

A source privy to the meeting, said, “No Jupiter will force us to go and teach until all the agreements are documented. The Federal Government is not sincere. If indeed the authorities have agreed, why will they be afraid to document what has been agreed upon?

“Let the vice-chancellors, who can teach, go and do so. But our members are determined not to sign any attendance register tomorrow (today). The threat does not bother us, as truth will always supercede deception, lies and any form of intimidation.”

The ASUU National Treasurer, Dr. Ademola Aremu, who also spoke with  one of our correspondents, confirmed that the lecturers would not return to work until the  government met their demands.

He said, “Our position has not changed because we are still on strike. When we met President Goodluck Jonathan, we had a number of agreements but when the Presidency communicated to us, we noticed some gaps. We have written to the government on our observations but up till now, it has not responded.

“The only response from government representatives was the accusation against us that we are making new demands. This was after the letter we wrote to the government was exposed to the whole world.

“ASUU is not asking for anything new;  what we are saying is that government should perfect the documentation binding the agreement we had with it. We know the agreement we had with the government and we will stand by it.”

Aremu also accused the government of inconsistency with the shift in ultimatum, noting that it was playing politics with the death of    Iyayi.

He added, “The government did not play any role in the burial of Iyayi, who died in the struggle. The Federal Government would have been more responsive instead of threatening our members with sacking. The military used this system and it did not work. Why will it work in a democratic environment? I don’t think any right thinking government will use threat to achieve peace.”

On government’s claim that it was ready to pay salaries owed the striking teachers who returned to work, Aremu said the decision was a  part of  the  ploy not to make things work in the education sector.

He added, “This government does not want things to work at all. We wrote to the government that we noticed some gaps but instead of writing us back to clear issues, it began to use threat as a weapon. I don’t think anyone who is worth the certificate he is using as a lecturer will panic because of four months’ salaries. You only treat casual workers in such way and not people with intellectual endowment. ASUU members are not casual workers so  the  position of   Okojie will not shake us.”

The Chairman of the University of Abuja chapter, Dr. Clement Chup, also described the threat as “an empty one.”

He said, “We are still waiting for the government to respond to our letter; until that is done, the strike continues.

“When the December 4 deadline was given, I said ‘I dey laugh because I knew it would not work.’ Now that they have extended it, ‘I still dey laugh’ because it will still not work. Because you (Federal Government) are not ready to honour  an agreement and you will begin to threaten people with sacking;    it doesn’t work that way.”

His Nasarawa State University, Keffi, counterpart, Dr. Theophilus Lagi, said, “It is only the National Executive Council of the ASUU that could take the decision to suspend the strike.”

He said lecturers in the school would stay away from the classrooms since  the NEC of ASUU  had yet to suspend the strike.

The Senior Special Assistant to the President on Public Affairs, Dr. Doyin Okupe and   Okojie ,  had last Tuesday, claimed that the Federal Government  had deposited the N200bn promised as funding to universities in an account with the CBN.

The amount is for renewal of infrastructure in the nation’s public universities.

But the Special Assistant (Media) to the Minister of Education, Simeon Nwakaudu, expressed optimism that many lecturers would resume work today.

He said, “By tomorrow (today), we will know where we go from there. Let us wait and see what happens. Many ASUU members have contacted their respective vice-chancellors and indicated their readiness to work.”

Meanwhile, the Acting General Secretary of the Nigeria Labour Congress, Mr. Chris Uyot, on Sunday, said the leadership of the NLC would hold a crucial meeting with the leaders of ASUU on Monday (today).

Asuu Strike Latest: Fg Must Come Out With Payment Proof, Strike Continues - Asuu

The leadership of the academic staff union of Nigerian university has vowed to continue the strike until federal government comes out with a proof of the payment of the N200 billion said to have been paid into a CBN account.....more details coming soon

Asuu Strike Update: AAUA , ESUT Pulls Out Of Strike

Academic activities resumed at the Adekunle Ajasin University, Akungba-Akoko (AAUA), on Monday, as some lecturers of the institution complied with the directive by the management of the school to commence lectures.

Although lectures have not started fully in all the departments, a visit to the school campus showed that lectures had started in some of the departments of the university, with students in classrooms.

It was observed that lectures were on in some of the faculties including Arts and Education.

It was also gathered that timetables for lectures for the second semester of the 2012/2013 academic session had been released by each of the departments, to signal the commencement of academic exercise.

Also meetings of the heads of departments in each of the faculties were held to ensure proper courses allocation among the lecturers.

The vice chancellor of the university, Professor Femi Mimiko and principal officers of the insitution went round the campus to monitor the level of compliance to the directive.

Speaking after the monitoring exercise, Mimiko expressed satisfaction, saying the development showed that about 60 per cent of the academic staff were back on campus.

“I am satisfied with the level of response that we have received so far, viz-a-viz the directive that management gave that lectures should resume today.

“I have personally gone round and I also sent my principal officers to go round the classrooms and it was discovered that quite a number of classes held.

“As we speak, lecturers are in the classrooms teaching, yes the students are just coming back to campus, that is not unexpected, but the good thing there is, more than half of the total number of lecturers have indicated their desire to teach and they are all over the place teaching, I hope and believe that from tomorrow, the situation will improve,” he said.

Mimiko said it was a matter of individual choice if a parent chose to listen to ASUU and keep his child at home, adding that there was little or nothing that could be done to that.

Also, students and lecturers of the Enugu State University of Science and Technology (ESUT), on Monday, returned to school, following a directive by the school authorities.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reported that the authorities had directed them to resume classes on December 2 and commence preparations for the 2012/2013 second semester examination.

NAN correspondent who monitored the situation at the Enugu and Agbani campuses of the university reported that the students were in their various departments exchanging pleasantries and checking the notice boards.

At the faculties of engineering and management sciences in the Enugu campus, students in their numbers were copying the second semester examination timetables pasted on the notice boards.

The lecturers, on the other hand, held a meeting with the governing council of the university at the Agbani campus on the resumption of work.

Addressing the lecturers, chairman of the council, Chief Chilo Offiah, appealed to them to sheathe their sword and return to classes in the interest of the students.

Offiah thanked the lecturers for attending the meeting and assured them that the council would do all it could to ensure the improvement of their welfare.

The executive members of the ESUT branch of the ASUU did not, however, attend the meeting.

Meanwhile, it was a different situation at the Enugu campus of the University of Nigeria, Nsukka (UNN), as only a few students and lecturers were on campus.

NAN reported that the few lecturers were in their various offices, while the non-academic staff members were busy working.

Some of the lecturers who spoke with NAN on conditions of anonymity said they were waiting for directives from both the school authorities and the ASUU branch.

HERALD

Asuu Strike Update: Asuu Leaders Relocates From Abuja To Annul FG Threat

Following threats from the Federal Government,
leaders of the Academic Staff Union of
Universities (ASUU) yesterday relocated from
Abuja to their various campuses in readiness
for expected crackdown.
It was gathered that President Goodluck
Jonathan might no longer be directly involved in
negotiation with the lecturers because he is
angry angry with ASUU leaders for three
reasons, namely their contempt for the office
of the President, their decision to issue new
conditions and their alleged backing by some
external forces.
Investigation revealed that after spending
almost a week in Abuja for the resumption of
talks, the ASUU leaders were left with no
option but to go back to their various
campuses.
It was learnt that the leaders felt disappointed
that in spite of the fact that they had avoided
making the negotiation talks a media affair, the
Federal Government bungled the opportunity to
wrap it up.
A top leader of ASUU, who spoke in confidence,
said: “Our leaders have returned to their
campuses. They were disappointed with the
Area Boy or Agbero method adopted by the
Minister.
“The military style of the Minister of State for
Education will only compound the situation.
“So, we are back to our trenches as it was the
situation during the military era. We are ready
for the worst now.
“If the situation becomes uncontrollable, we will
also go underground and resort to guerilla
tactics.”
There were indications yesterday that the
Federal Government might level sabotage
allegation against the lecturers if they remain
unyielding and the strike paralyses universities.
A senior government official, who confided with Journalist, said: “We hope that they will not
overreach their bounds, because what they
have done in the last four months amounted to
economic sabotage.
“If they continue to take the law into their
hands by paralysing activities in the
universities, we may try them for economic
sabotage. This is also the extreme end the
government may go too.
“Let them study the enabling laws to see what
they have been violating. We are not yet
disposed to wielding the big stick, but if the
government is pushed to the wall, it will invoke
relevant laws to manage the situation. We are
waiting for what they will do.”
Top ASUU leaders were said to have been
placed under security watch at the time of
filing this report.
A different source said: “All the security
agencies have been directed to protect lives
and property on all the campuses nationwide,
especially in the universities that have
reopened.
“Union leaders are also under watch to prevent
recourse to self-help, which may lead to
wanton destruction of property.
“The government will not tolerate any
intimidation or harassment, and any violent
union leader risks being arrested. But those
who restrict themselves to the confines of the
law have nothing to fear.”
A government source yesterday said that
President Goodluck Jonathan might no longer
be directly involved in negotiation with ASUU to
preserve the Office of the President.
A government source said: “We are trying to
insulate the Office of the President from further
negotiation with ASUU if at all the union will
allow such or there will be room for such.
“We think relevant ministers and the Committee
of Pro-Chancellors/Vice-Chancellors should be
able to handle the rest of the talks/
negotiation.”
According to investigation, the December 4,
2013 ultimatum given by the Minister of State
for Education, Mr. Nyesom Wike, followed the
directive of the Presidency.
The government source added: “The President
is angry because he over-indulged ASUU
leaders. It is only in Nigeria you see the
President sitting for 13 hours with union
leaders on any issue and at the end of the day,
there will be no courtesy from the union.
“While the President was expecting feedback
from ASUU leaders within 72 hours, they kept
him in suspense for two weeks or more.
“And instead of feedback on where the talks
stopped, ASUU leaders came up with fresh
conditions when even during the negotiation,
they admitted that some of the clauses in 2009
agreement cannot be implemented.
“The President is human. He now has every
cause to believe that the strike action seems to
have the backing of external forces seeking to
bring his administration down. That was why
he decided to come down hard on ASUU too.”

Asuu Strike Update: Lecturers Dares FG On Ultimatum

Striking university lecturers have called the bluff of the federal government which yesterday gave them a seven-day ultimatum.

The supervising minister of education, Nyesom Wike, ordered the striking lecturers under the umbrella of the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) to resume work on or before December 4, 2013, or face the prospect of being sacked.

Wike, who spoke to journalists in Abuja, said government had reviewed the entire situation and come to the conclusion that the continuation of the strike is an attempt by ASUU to sabotage all efforts to address the issues.

He said: “It is amazing, however, that three weeks after the meeting with Mr President, ASUU responded by giving new conditions for suspending the five-month-old strike.

“As a responsible government, we cannot allow the continuous closure of our public universities for this length of time, as this poses danger to the education system.”

He said that, consequently, the federal government has directed that all vice chancellors of federal universities that are currently on strike should immediately reopen for academic and allied activities as directed by their pro-chancellors.

“Any academic staff who fails to resume on or before 4th December, 2013, automatically ceases to be a staff of the institution.

“Vice chancellors should ensure that staff who resume for work are provided with enabling environment for academic and allied activities.”

In a swift reaction to the ultimatum and threat of sack, however, ASUU dared the federal government to carry out its plan to sack university teachers, saying that it will fail.

The union said, with the plan, it has been vindicated that the federal government was not committed to implementing any resolutions it reached with the union.

While reacting to the threat by the government, ASUU national treasurer Dr Ademola Aremu said in Ibadan that the threat did not hold water as it had confirmed the fears that government cannot be trusted.

He said strike is a legal action and that the threat will fail, adding that Nigerian public universities needed 60,000 lecturers owing to failure of government to employ.

ASUU said government was wasting the time of Nigerians and youths in the country by failing to perfect the resolutions and get the strike suspended.

The academic union said it had reasons to be wary following the failure of government to honour its promises to ASUP, resident doctors, and health workers who have suspended their strikes.

ASUU further said the threat was an insult to the sense and sensibilities of Nigerians who were waiting on the federal government for a positive reaction.

Aremu: “With the latest action, the federal government has shown that they are not committed to all they have been saying. We are saying that since we agreed at the meeting that the sum of N200billion is for 2012 and 2013 revitalisation, the federal government should deposit same in the Central Bank of Nigeria.

“We are already in November and December is around the corner. If they don’t do that now, when do they want to do it?. We are saying the non-victimisation clause should be included as agreed while the renegotiation of the 2009 agreement should be included as agreed with

the presidents.

“It is a pity if the federal government is not willing to perfect the resolutions reached with the union. This is why we find it difficult to trust our leaders by their words.

“How can someone be threatening to sack lecturers when universities are already short-staffed by almost 60,000. We are not in a military era. The military tried it and failed. This one will fail again. They can re-open the school. ASUU did not shut down the universities.

“It was the school management that ordered the students to go back home.”

Some university lecturers who reacted to the federal government’s directive said it was a joke.

Dr Oghenekaro Ogbinaka, chairman, University of Lagos branch of ASUU, told NAN that the development was strange and laughable.

He said that this was so, considering the fact that the union was yet to get back to the government, after their deliberations with President Goodluck Jonathan.

“Our reaction is simple. Let us just wait for the seven days to come around. What government has just done shows that they were not committed to the offer they made with the union that had the Trade Union Congress president and the minister of labour in attendance.

“We are not going to fall to that blackmail. Now, which one is better: government acceding to our demands or issuing out threats?

“Honestly, this whole thing ought to have been easily resolved, given the approach taken by President Jonathan, but it is like we want to be taken for granted after all and it is unfair,” he said.

Prof. Oyelowo Oyewo, immediate past dean, Faculty of Law, University of Lagos, simply described the development as “a glorified joke and laughable’’.

Oyewo noted that it was funny that one of the parties which had before now been holding dialogue would try to intimidate the other .

Asuu Strike Update: FG Negotiations With Asuu Is Null And Void Witout Wages Commission - Senate

1Chairman, Senate Committee on Establishment and Public Service Matters, Aloysius  Etok,  said on Monday that the ongoing negotiations between the Federal Government and the Academic Staff Union of Universities, “would be null and void without the input of the National Wages and Salaries Commission.”

Etok said this in Abuja during his committee’s oversight tour  on the activities of the agency.

“Under no guise should the Federal Government negotiate salary or wage increase without the input of the relevant commission,” he said.

The senator also advised the government against “sentimental negotiation for salary increase in the civil service.”

He noted  that such  negotiation was the cause of the incessant industrial actions in the country.

He said, “We have said this earlier that on no account should the Federal Government in particular go on negotiation for salary increase or anything that has to do with wages or salary without the input of the commission.

“They should avoid the issue of sentimental increase or negotiation. We should cancel exceptions. Four months is about a semester.

“The commission was expected to have played a prominent role in the 2009 agreement reached between the Federal Government and ASUU.”

Etok   chided the commission over the implementation of the 2013 budget as well as on why  the impact of the commission was not felt on Public workers’ salary crises that tended to cripple some sectors of the economy from time to time.

He said, “The commission might look small but  its importance cannot be under-estimated. We have come to know your level of implementation of the 2013 budget.

“We also want to know the relevance of the commission to the Federal Government and why your impact is not felt in the salary problems across the country.

“We should ensure that the commission would  be there when ASUU is on strike for months as well as who guided the Federal Government  in the agreement entered with ASUU in 2009. You cannot be ruled out in the scheme of things in this country.”

Etok also lamented the withholding of part of the 2013 budget of the commission and maintained that the commission required funds to carry out its research-based projects.

He said, “We frown on this situation and we want to call  on the Minister of Finance to do something so that you can lay a proper foundation for the commission.”

The Chairman, National Income, Salaries and Wages Commission, Dr. Richard Egbule,  exonerated the commission from the agreement reached between the Federal Government and ASUU.

He said, “The wages  commission has been up and doing in everything concerning wages and salary in this country.

“When the controversial agreement was reached in 2009, we were there but not as negotiators. We made it known to them that the route they were going was wrong.

“Today, I wish to say that ASUU did not go on strike because of salary due to the fact that we handled it very well.”

“What is controversial was the Excess Workload Allowance but we have asked them to employ more lecturers to avoid excess workload.”

Credit: PUNCH.

Asuu Strike Update: Asuu At War With Esut Management Over Monday Planned Resumption

The Academic Staff Union of Universities, ASUU, has dissociated itself from the planned resumption of academic activities at the Enugu State University of Science and Technology, ESUT, tomorrow (Monday).

In a statement signed by the Chairman of ASUU, ESUT chapter, Prof. Agu Gab Agu and others, the union said its attention had been drawn to the announcement by ESUT management that students were resuming academic activities on Monday November 18, 2013.

“The academic staff of ESUT dissociates itself from the above announcement”, the union stated.

It added that “while ASUU-ESUT mourns the demise of Professor Festus Iyayi, a former President of ASUU, it awaits the direction of the NEC on the ongoing strike”.

Prof. Agu described the demise of Iyayi as a big loss to ASUU, saying his death was a big loss to the union, the academia and the country in general.

The ASUU-ESUT boss prayed that God should grant the family of the late ASUU President the fortitude to bear the loss.

Meanwhile, a condolence register has been opened for the late Professor Iyayi at the ASUU Secretariat in ESUT Agbani Campus.

Asuu Strike Update: Asuu Decides On Strike Today

The indefinitely postponed Asuu NEC meeting will be taking place today  a reliable source hinted, the source also revealed that the more than four months old strike maybe called off in the meeting....more details very soon.

Versity Lecturers Chased Kogi Gorvernor Away From Hospital

Angry leaders of the Academic Staff Union of Universities allegedly chased away the Governor of Kogi State, Captain Idris Wada (retd.) from the emergency ward of the  Lokoja General Hospital on Tuesday.
Wada had gone to the hospital  to visit their  injured colleague, Dr. Ngozi Ilo,   and commiserate with them over the death of their  former President, Prof. Festus Iyayi,   in an accident involving his convoy  and an ASUU vehicle on Tuesday.
Continue after the break.
The  Chairman, University of Benin chapter  of ASUU, Dr. Anthony Monye-Emina; and the Benin Zonal Coordinator, Dr. Sunny Iyalo, had minor injuries and were therefore not admitted into the hospital.The   ASUU leaders, including the National President, Dr. Biodun Ogunyemi;  the Ibadan Zonal Coordinator, Dr. Nassir Adesola; the Chairman, Lagos State University chapter of the union, Dr. Adekunle Idris;    Monye-Emina;   Iyalo  and lecturers from the Federal University Lokoja however sent the governor away from the hospital’s emergency ward.

Their grouse was Wada’s  late response to the accident and the uncaring attitude he allegedly displayed towards the union leaders  involved in the accident. They also accused him of trying to make a political gain out of their misfortune. Idris, who confirmed that  Wada was chased out of the  emergency ward, said,    “We are surprised that a state governor could resort to telling lies because contrary to the claim by his spokesperson that he showed care towards our colleagues, he did not.

“Somebody that did not stop after his convoy killed our leader; somebody that did not come to the hospital until some minutes to 5pm(on Tuesday) after the accident that happened around 11am could not be said to be caring.
“That was why we chased him out of the emergency ward of the hospital and we also prevented him from seeing Prof. Iyayi’s corpse in the mortuary.
“We are not happy with the fact that he came very late to the hospital and the fact that when he came, his press crew attempted to take photograph and video record of Dr. Ilo, who is our national welfare  secretary. We stopped them because that was  the  height of insensitivity.
“Somebody that could not provide us with an ambulance cannot be said to be caring. We had to call UNIBEN for an ambulance that took Ilo to the UNIBEN Teaching Hospital while our colleagues from the Federal University, Lokoja, with the assistance of the vice-chancellor, gave us the ambulance that was used to convey the remains of Prof. Iyayi to Benin.”
Idris added that though Wada  left the hospital “like a gentleman,”  some of  his overzealous  security aides tried  to be naughty.
He said,

“Some of the policemen  that followed him to the hospital wanted to be naughty but we lectured them. The hospital workers and the residents of Lokoja who witnessed how we chased the governor  away were happy.”
Also, Adesola expressed dismay at  the efforts  made by the governor to rewrite the incident.
He said, “It was actually the last of the governor’s convoy that veered off the road and ran into a  vehicle that was conveying Iyayi and others.
“When the governor’s convoy came  with   noise and harassment, everyone on the road moved  to the side  of the road for them to pass  but  unfortunately, the governor’s aide  has told the world that an  ASUU  vehicle was avoiding a trailer and ran into  their escort vehicle.
“What manner of reckless lying is that? The front  of the ASUU bus remains  intact except for the windscreen that broke. Iyayi was sitting at the back of the bus and the  escort van  ran into it.
The most annoying part is  that the incident occurred around 11am and the governor did not even visit the hospital until around 5pm.
“He  came with a large  number of pressmen and security aides  and was attempting to make some political capital out of our misfortune.
“We actually had to chase him away from the emergency ward where our welfare secretary was still receiving treatment .”
But Jacob Edi, the Special Adviser, Media and Strategy to  Wada,  claimed that the ASUU leaders did not chase his boss away from the hospital. Edi, who in a telephone interview  with one of our correspondents, insisted that Wada  was not indifferent to the plight  of the   accident victims, however, stated that the union officials were not  friendly. 

He said,
“When the governor went  to the hospital, the ASUU people   had a kind of adverse reaction to the governor.    But they did not chase away the governor. Nobody chased away anybody.”
The governor’s spokesman  added that the state government would not want to be involved in controversy over  the death of the former ASUU president. He stated that Wada was pained by  the accident and had been sympathising with the bereaved families  and  the survivors.
It was however not only the ASUU leaders that   lambasted  the governor  over  the accident, the Nigeria Labour Congress, a former President of the Trade Union Congress, Mr. Peter Esele and an ex-Commissioner of Police in Lagos State, Mr. Abubakar Tsav, also  did.
They  described Wada’s convoy as reckless and   demanded the prosecution of the  driver  of the escort vehicle that   caused the accident on the Lokoja-Abuja Road. The NLC,  in a statement in Abuja by its National President, Mr. Abdulwahed Omar, described the death of Iyayi as avoidable. It  also blamed the Federal Government for its neglect of  the road. The NLC said its  position  was  that the federal   and   Kogi State governments  were responsible for   Iyayi’s death.
It  said that 10 years after the contract for the rehabilation of the  Lokoja-Abuja Road was awarded,  it  had been turned to a death trap. The NLC  said,  “Iyayi’s death leaves a sour taste in the mouth and it is totally avoidable. It is blameable, lawlessness/impunity on the part of the Kogi State governor, who is fast acquiring for himself an accident-prone reputation. The congress therefore advised  “siren-blowing and terror-dealing convoys” to  be conscious of other road users. It  called on the Federal Roads Safety Corps and the Nigeria Police to ensure that those behind the  accident  were brought to justice.

Esele and Tsav    urged the relevant authorities to ensure that the convoy driver involved in the accident was prosecuted. They spoke in different telephone interviews with   our correspondents.
According to them, Wada has a responsibility to caution his drivers as his convoy has become reputed for recklessness.
Esele recalled that the convoy of the governor was involved in  an  accident which resulted in the death of  Wada’s Aide de Camp and in which Wada was also injured. Tsav,  who described the death of the former ASUU leader as unfortunate, called on President Goodluck Jonathan to meet the demands of ASUU. This, he said, would be  in appreciation of the fact that Iyayi died while contributing to the development of university education in the country.
Tsav said that   accidents occurred in Kogi State not because the roads in Kogi were the worst but because the drivers in the governor’s convoy were not cautious. He said that the roads were not meant only for the political office holders but   for  all Nigerians. He said,
“The convoy of Wada is known for being reckless; this is not the first time this is happening. It does not mean that the worst roads are in Kogi State.
 “I want to appeal to him to caution his drivers, they are reckless, he should caution them to be cautious on the roads, the roads belong  to every Nigerian.”

Credit: Punch

Asuu Strike Update: Lecturers Divided Over Strike

An exclusive report has it that university lecturers were divided at there local meetings where they were ask to vote whether or not to call off the strike,  though. UI and ABU has voted the strike should be called off... more details late r

Don't Put Words Into My Mouth, Our Members Will Decide - Asuu Chairman

 

Read the details of the FG (President Jonathan) and ASUU Meeting outcome

After thirteen hours of negotiations, the President of the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) Dr. Nasir Isa Fagge on tuesday morning was not forthcoming with the new Federal Government’s offer as he insisted that his members have the final say on the issue.

Speaking with State House correspondents, he said that the meeting with President Goodluck Jonathan discussed how to tackle the problem of University education system in the country.

He said: “Well we have had lengthy meeting with Mr. President, rubbing minds on how best to address the problem of University education in this country.”

“And we now have a message from Mr. President we are going to take to our members. And we are expecting that our members will respond appropriately to the message of Mr. President.”

On whether the lecturers are going back to the classroom, he said: “That is up to our members.”

Asked what the message was, he said: “I can’t tell you. Its not for you. It is for our members.”

If impressed with the message, he said: “Don’t put words into my mouth. Our members will determine that.”

Also speaking with journalists at the end of the meeting, the Minister of Labour Emeka Wogu said: “We made progress, the President of ASUU told you that they are going back with a message from the Federal Government back to their members. And the message is full of high expectations and hope.”

On whether the strike will be called off, he said: “That is why the message is full of high expectations and hope. So our prayers is that they come back with positive outcome. They might not even come back to meet us, they might take decisions there that will meet your expectations.”

“Nigerians should be patient for ASUU to finish their meetings and come out with a message to Nigerians.”

Responding to whether the Federal Government made a fresh offer, her said: “Well, the offer we made are the offer they are taking in line with the 2009 agreement. The issues that led to the strike are issues contained in the 2009 agreement and we did not go beyond the agreement.”

      

Asuu Update :We Shall Deliver Mr President's Message To Our Members - Asuu Chairman

              
After the end of the marathon meeting with President Goodluck Jonathan in Abuja on Monday, which lasted for about 13 hours, the leadership of the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) said they would now go and brief their members on the details of the discussions.
The Chairman of ASUU, Dr. Nasir Fagge, told the reporters in the early hours of November 5, 2013, Tuesday, at the State House that the leaders would take the President’s message back to their members.
Dr. Fagge, who wore broad smiles afar emerging from the meeting venue at about 3.35 a.m. did not say what the message was when he spoke with the correspondents.

The Labour Minister, Emeka Wogu, who also spoke with the press, just said what was discussed did not go beyond the 2009 agreement.
The meeting with the President had begun at the Presidential Villa, Abuja, around 2.40 p.m. on Monday, after ASUU had also met with the President of the Senate, Senator David Mark.
It would be mentioned that it was the first meeting between the striking union and President Goodluck Jonathan since the strike began 1 July, shutting down almost all state and Federal Government owned universities in Nigeria.
The Federal Government had initially offered the striking lecturers N30billion to pay for allowances piled up since government and the union hammered out an agreement in 2009. Government also offered N100billion to pay for improvements of facilities in the universities and later increased this to N200billion on a yearly basis.
ASUU rejected the offer as too small and insisted on government implementing in full the 2009 agreement.

From The Asuu - Fg Meeting

Just from what I know and how it use to be done, Mr president will not be sincere if he says the strike will be called off tonight, what I sure of is that the outcome of the asuuu fg meeting will not be disclosed to the public untilll the next asuu meeting where the faith of Nigerian student will be determined......let's go to bed plsssssss

We Wont Call Of Strike Until FG Yiellds To Our Demand- ASUU

The Academic Staff Union of Universities, ASUU, has declared that they won’t call off the ongoing strike until its demands were fully met by the federal government.

The Ahmadu Bello University (ABU), Zaria chapter Chairman of ASUU, Dr Muhammed Kabir Aliyu, stated this while speaking with newsmen shortly after their congress meeting on Friday in Zaria.

Aliyu believes that, “the federal government has not shown any sign of sincerity in keeping to the agreement reached in 2009 and ASUU will only call off the strike once our demands are met by the federal government.”

“The issue at stakes is that the federal government is not sincere. The government is trying to re-negotiate what we have already negotiated and agreed with them. The union presented a demand in 2006, which led to the 2009 agreement. They (government) should implement what they have agreed upon.

“Even the then Vice President, who is now the President of Nigeria, was involved. In fact, he read the agreement and was among those who advised the late President Yar’Adua to ask his team on the government side to sign the agreement.

“So, it is that agreement again they want to change but ASUU is insisting on it. The strike is lingering because government is not sincerea, they are trying to re-negotiate or repudiate the agreement and ASUU will not agree to that.”

On a recent statement attributed to the Senate President, David Mark that those who signed the 2009 agreement on behalf of government were incompetent, Aliyu said, “Indirectly, the Senate President is saying that the current Nigerian president is not competent and not just the Nigerian president, but all the Vice Chancellors that were there, the pro-chancellors that were there, the executive secretary that was there, the Minister of education’s representative that was there, Ministry of Finance that was there, Ministry of labour that was there, National Universities Commission that was there are not competent. So, what he is saying is that the whole government is not competent, and perhaps doesn’t know its left from right. That is the implication of what the Senate President is saying”.

On the implication of the strike on the academic standard, Aliyu noted that, “Our strike is trying to even improve the system. We cannot continue to pretend that we are graduating good students. People know that our students are not competent enough to call themselves graduates, that is why ASUU is trying to address it.

“So, the strike is not the problem; the cause of the strike is the problem. The strike has no negative effect directly, because it is trying to improve the system. Now that the governmen

Tears As Negotiations Between Minister Of Education And Asuu Failed

The supervising Minister of Education, Nyeson Wike had thought that it would be so easy for him to go into a discussion with the leadership of ASUU and come out smiling after a compromise, but was shocked at the recent meeting in Abuja when it became obvious that ASUU is  not joking but really mean business.

His plan to use the resolution of the strike to lobby President Jonathan to make a full Minister of Education has does suffered a serious set back. It doesn't seem that would happen anytime soon and it appears ASUU and its leadership are not ready to accept anything less.

Tears As Negotiations Between Minister Of Education And Asuu Failed

The supervising Minister of Education, Nyeson Wike had thought that it would be so easy for him to go into a discussion with the leadership of ASUU and come out smiling after a compromise, but was shocked at the recent meeting in Abuja when it became obvious that ASUU is  not joking but really mean business.

His plan to use the resolution of the strike to lobby President Jonathan to make a full Minister of Education has does suffered a serious set back. It doesn't seem that would happen anytime soon and it appears ASUU and its leadership are not ready to accept anything less.

No Work No Pay Rule For Asuu May Prolong Strike - Asuu

The  Chairman of the Delta State University Chapter of
the Academic Staff Union of Universities
(ASUU) on Wednesday warned that
implementing the No-Work-No-Pay policy
would worsen the industrial crisis in public
universitie. Dr Emmanuel
Mordi, said in Asaba that the state government
was planning to implement the policy for the
first time. NAN reports that the state Governor, Dr
Emmanuel Uduaghan, had urged ASUU
members to return to classroom or face
implementation of the policy. “When the strike is called off, lecturers will say:
`No pay, no work’. It does not help anybody; it
can only escalate the crisis. “It is unfortunate that ASUU is at the receiving
end, as the government, being stronger, has
the power to withhold ASUU members’ salaries,
he said. He said that ASUU was willing to call off the
strike and would do so as soon as the Federal
Government showed more commitment. “We are anxious to call off the strike, but the
government said we should wait for so many
months. “What we must note is that our students are
also our children. Some lecturers are also
students; so, this is a very painful surgical
operation, which we have to carry out in the
best interest of our future generation.” Also the Adamawa chapter of the Christian
Association of Nigeria (CAN) on Wednesday
said the lingering strike by university teachers
in the country could destroy the nation’s
tertiary education. The Chairman of the association, Rev. Moses
Taparki, in an interview in Yola, expressed
displeasure over the inability of the Federal
Government and the Academic Staff Union of
Universities (ASUU) to resolve the issues. Describing the situation as “unfortunate”, he
said it had lingered in spite of appeals and
interventions by groups and individuals, and
blamed the government and the union for their
seeming “insensitivity” to the issue. The cleric said the damage the strike had done
to the university system in the country in the
past four months would take several years to
redress. “The government and ASUU should take
responsibility for the sad development. Many
groups and individuals, including religious
leaders and traditional rulers, have appealed to
them but all have been in vain,” he said. “For the rigid positions the government and the
university teachers have maintained on the
matter, I maintain that both parties must take
full responsibility for the damage the strike
has done to the system,” he stressed.

Strike May Last yrs If FG Remains Adamant

From seminar halls and boardrooms where talks seem to have collapsed, university teachers have moved their battle for better education to the streets.

But, the police are stopping them from holding rallies and marches to convince the public that their four-month old action is right.

In Calabar, the police yesterday stopped a planned protest by lecturers of the University of Calabar (UNICAL) and the Cross River University.

But the lecturers addressed a rally on the UNICAL campus.

University of Ibadan (UI) lecturers had a town hall meeting to sensitise the people to the strike.

In Ile-Ife, Osun State, Obafemi Awolowo University lecturers marched on the streets, getting to the palace of the Ooni of Ife. They urged him to pravail on the government to implement the 2009 agreement it signed with the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU), without which the strike would continue.

President Goodluck Jonathan said during last month’s Presidential Chat that the government cannot fully implement the agreement, especially the financial aspect, because doing so would force a shutdown of other departments.

The Nigeria Labour Congrees (NLC), also yesterday, said although it would not call out workers on a solidarity strike with the lecturers, it would hold a meeting in Kaduna tomorrow to take a stand on the way forward.

No fewer than 200 policemen, most of them heavily armed, stopped ASUU members from carrying out an enlightenment walk in Calabar.

The walk, which was organised by the UNICAL and Cross River University of Technology (CRUTECH) branches of ASUU, was to take off from the UNICAL gate at 7am and go through some streets of Calabar, but the policemen ensured the teachers did not leave the campus

The policemen said they were acting on “orders from above”.

ASUU Chairman Dr James Okpiliya said: “Our union is law abiding. We wrote to the police and other security agencies on our intention of walking the streets in pursuance of our cause to put the records straight.

“Many groups have been walking the streets, giving people the wrong impression about the situation. We just want to put the records straight. The police are telling us that they have orders from above not to let us walk the streets of Calabar. It is a shame. You can all see the hypocrisy of government.

“They allowed youth and market women but they would not let us academics, peace loving people. We would remain resolute. No amount of provocation would stop us.”

Okpiliya went on: “We are not on strike because of our salaries. We are fighting for our students and the terrible conditions of our university. Most of our science students do not know the difference between Bunsen burner and a stove. They don’t even know the chemicals.

“The Tertiary Education Trust Fund (TETFUND) today has become a main funding source of our universities, but this is not to be so. TETFUND is only an intervention agency. Government has bailed out banks and even Nollywood, but not our universities.

“The strike would continue as long as the government remains adamant. The President said after all, the strike in Ghana lasted two years, so that means this one can continue even up to five years.

“It is a shame for the President to say the strike is political. The strike is not political. We are fighting for the good of our people. If there is anything political about this it is by him Jonathan. Let him implement the agreement and if the strike continues then he can say it is political. Any government that does not pay attention to the education sector is a dead government.”

The Chairman of ASUU, CRUTECH branch, Dr Nsing Ogar, said the Federal Government must honour the agreement.

A former president of ASUU and renowned author, Prof Festus Iyayi, said a government that does not respect agreements is calling for anarchy.

He said: “This is the final struggle. Even if it takes 10 years, the students should know we are struggling on their behalf. A day would come when the police would join us. A day would come when we would not care whether the police would stop or not. The state has failed.”

Another lecturer from UNICAL said: “If the strike is called off today, everybody will be worse off for it. People are not looking at the issues; they are just saying open the school, let the children graduate. Let them go to school. They are not bothered about the quality of education they are getting. In the future, whatever we say the government will never take us seriously.”

OAU chapter Chairman Prof. Peter Akinola, who led the protest, urged the Federal Government to accede to ASUU’s demands to enable the union suspend the industrial action.

Addressing residents at the palace of the Ooni of Ife, Oba Okunade Sijuwade, Akinola said the education sector deserved a better deal.

A member of the union, Prof. Gbolahan Babalola, said protest was to show the concern of ASUU for undergraduates who had stayed at home for months.

He urged traditional rulers and other stakeholders to resolve the impasse.

The Sarun Oodua, Chief Adekola Adeyeye, who represented the Ooni, praised ASUU for the peaceful conduct and show of concern for students.

Adeyeye said that the Ooni understood that education was the best legacy that any parent or government could bequeath to any child.

He promised that the union’s message would be relayed to the traditional ruler.

The OAU lecturers moved round major streets of Ile-Ife. Osun State University teachers staged their rally at the newly built Freedom Square near Old Garage in Osogbo, the Osun State capital.

The Ile-Ife rally, which kicked off from the Oduduwa Hall of the OAU caused a traffic gridlock for many hours in the ancient town.

Osun State University branch Chairman Dr. Joseph Abiona was worried over the misinformation being dished out to Nigerians by the Federal Government as reason for the strike.

The NLC said it was in the process of mediating between the Federal Government and ASUU.

Oyo State NLC Chairman Comrade Bashiru Olarewaju spoke at a town hall meeting organised by ASUU to review the strike. The meeting was held at the Trenchard Hall of the University of Ibadan (UI).

At the Town Hall meeting were hundreds of people, including civil society groups’ members, politicians, the clergy, traders who were presented with slide of the NEEDS ASSESSMENT REPORT of 2009 .

The NLC, according to Olarewaju , will meet tomorrow in Kaduna to take a decisive action on the ASUU strike.

He said: “The government and some other people have been trying to undermine the power, the influence and the ability of each group that can salvage this nation from collapse . And let me say this, that NLC has not been quiet. No, many people will want the NLC to go on strike. No; we will not go on strike on ASUU for now. But, anything can happen after Wednesday. This is because we have more than 40 affiliates. If an affiliate of NLC is in crisis and we now bring the entire workforce to join the strike, the train of the nation will not move forward. What we do in most cases is to mediate. ASUU is an affiliate of the NLC. ASUU is our partner. We will work together ,” the NLC chair said.

Prof. Remi Raji, Dean, Faculty of Arts, UI, said: “The way forward is for the government to look at the NEEDS ASSESSMENT report, which was presented to the government in November, 2012.

“In the next few days, it will be one year and nothing has been done of the 189 recommendations and we are saying that it is very crucial for government to deal with it squarely for the future of our children and our nation because a country that does not develop its own capacity within, to develop its own education standard to world class quality, cannot claim to be a giant of Africa, cannot claim to have a clean bill of economic health . This is the issue.”

UI chapter Chairman Dr. Olusegun Ajiboye said the appeal by President Jonathan to be patriotic is not needed but action and implementation of the agreement reached with the union.

He said it was sad that a President who claimed that corruption is not Nigeria’s problem can watch a Minister buy bullet proof vehicles for N255million, yet claiming there is no money to fund education.

He berated the President for speaking out publicly on the ongoing strike close to four months after it began, maintaining that he has not been patriotic and sensitive enough to the needs of the majority of Nigerians.

He said: “Will it have been possible for Mr. President to be quiet if his children are in one of our public institutions and be at home for four months? “How many years of appeal will make Mr. President implement a four year old agreement? The truth is we are tired of appeal. We need action. “

The Chairman of ASUU, Niger Delta University (NDU), Wilberforce Island, Bayelsa State, Dr. Beke Sese, said the strike is to save the universities from collapse.

He maintained that the strike had no political undertone and not targeted at Jonathan or his administration.

Sese told reporters in Port Harcourt, the Rivers State capital, that the industrial action was to protest the deplorable condition of public universities.

“Imputing political motive to the strike is a calculated attempt by some persons to deploy propaganda gimmicks to the cause of the university teachers, in order to divert attention from the real issues that informed the strike,” Sese said, adding:

“When the current Chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), Prof. Attahiru Jega, was ASUU president, the members did not compromise, when there was similar strike, during the regime of the late Gen. Sani Abacha.

“This is the first time that ASUU members have embarked on a protracted strike, which centres on funding of the universities and improvement of the infrastructure. The funds so far released by the Federal Government are grossly inadequate. The 2009 agreement must be fully implemented.”