Students don't want us to end strike - ASUU

The Academic Staff Union of Universities
has said it is continuing its nationwide
strike on the advice of university students.
In a telephone interview with SUNDAY
PUNCH, the President of the union, Dr. Isa
Fagge, 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."
Last Thursday, university students under
the auspices of the National Association
of Nigerian Students reportedly staged a
peaceful protest in Ado-Ekiti and flayed
the Federal Government for failing to
honour the agreement it had with ASUU
since 2009.
The students, who were from public
universities, threatened to disrupt
activities of private universities, adding
that the government was not bothered
about their plight because children of
government officials were studying either
in private universities or studying
overseas.
The university lecturers 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 Federal Government, last Wednesday,
accused ASUU of being unrealistic by
continuing its nationwide strike and asked
it to rethink its demands, considering
other commitments government has.
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.

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