The President of Academic Staff Union of Universities, Dr.
Isa Fagge has said it is continuing its nationwide strike on the advice of
university students. Speaking with PUNCH, the President of the union said
students were tired of the incessant industrial actions by the university
lecturers due to the Federal Government's failure to implement the agreement it
had with ASUU since 2009. Fagge said the union had decided to heed the advice
of the students to continue the strike until the Federal Government fully
implemented the agreement. "Our students have come out to say they don't
want us to call off the strike until the Federal Government answers us, because
they don't want us to call off now and later we go back to strike again. So, we
are heeding the advice of our students," he said. On the complaint by the
Federal Government that it lacked the funds to implement the agreement, Fagge
said it was not all about money, noting that government did not need funds to
start implementing some parts of the agreement. "There are issues and
agreement they can implement without money. Why don't they begin with those
ones?" he asked. He added that it was unfortunate that the government had
pulled out of dialogue with ASUU, stating that the union would not be intimidated.
He said, "Now, government has pulled out of the dialogue. We thought we
were the ones going on strike, but now government has also gone on
strike." The university lecturers who began an indefinite strike on July 1
and have been demanding full implementation of the agreement ASUU had with the
Federal Government in 2009, which among other things include the
UNESCO-recommended 26 per cent budgetary allocation for education. However, the
government said it could not implement the agreement, and is seeking re-negotiation.
The Minister of Information, Labaran Maku, who gave government's position on
the strike when he briefed journalists at the end of the weekly meeting of the
Federal Executive Council, said apart from security, education was one of the
sectors the government had expended a lot of money on.
- NewsRealTime
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