Danjuma Haruna, the National President of the PTA, warned in an interview with The PUNCH that an additional two-month strike would be disastrous for the education sector.
He said, “It will have devastating implications on the education sector in the 36 states of Nigeria and the Federal Capital Territory. We call on both ASUU and representatives of the Federal Government to go back to the dialogue table and resolve their problems.
“Not every parent in the country can afford taking his child abroad or to a private university for studies, hence, the need for both the Federal Government and ASUU to help towards going back to the dialogue table to save the situation and keep our students and teacher in school.
“The strike comes amid an increase in the price of foodstuff, high cost of petroleum and general insecurity challenges bedeviling the peace, stability in the country. We don’t want our children to spend three months at home because of the strike. We are begging the Federal Government to as a matter of urgency go back and resolve their problems with ASUU”
ASUU Issues Warning To The Ministers Against Taking Legal Action
Meanwhile, ASUU has warned Chris Ngige, the Minister of Labour and Employment, and Adamu Adamu, the Minister of Education, against taking trade union action against university lecturers
Even though the ministers had not declared any plans to take action against the union, ASUU thought it was important to issue a warning to them.
Professor Emmanuel Osodeke, the President of ASUU, disclosed this in an exclusive interview in Abuja on Monday.
ASUU said on Monday that its initial four-week warning strike, which began on February 14, 2022, at the University of Lagos, will be extended for another two months.
The union said it decided to extend the strike to allow the Federal Government and its agencies ample time to address the union’s pressing demands, according to a statement released by the union.
The statement read in part, “NEC acknowledged the intervention efforts, in various ways, by patriots and friends of genuine national development (students, parents, journalists, trade union leaders, civil society activists, etc.) to expeditiously resolve the crisis which the government’s disposition had allowed to fester.
“However, ASUU, as a union of intellectuals, has obligations to make the government honour agreements. NEC, having taken reports on the engagements of the trustees and principal officers with the government, concluded that the government had failed to satisfactorily address all the issues raised in the 2020 FGN/ASUU Memorandum of Action within the four-week roll-over strike period and resolved that the strike be rolled over for another eight weeks to give Government more time to address all the issues in concrete terms so that our students will resume as soon as possible.”
Speaking with The PUNCH, Osodeke noted that the union was ready to suspend the strike immediately the government does the needful. The Professor of soil science at the Micheal Okpara University of Agriculture, however, warned the government against taking actions against the union.
He said, “We expect that in the next one or two weeks, the Federal Government would solve all the issues. If they solve them next week, students will resume. If after eight weeks, they remain nonchalant, then the NEC will meet again and take action.
“Now, if they say they will apply the no-work-no-pay directive or take us to the industrial court as they did with the doctors last year, they should know that it is a hopeless step, we will also go the same way with them.
“Option two is that if they choose to drag us to court, remember when Ngige took doctors to court, a very hopeless step and he forced them back to work, what happened? When Saudi Arabia came, the doctors left the country. Who is the loser? Nigeria is the loser. Instead of solving a minor problem, you say you want to charge them to court. That simple action caused this country a lot.
“If he tries it, I can assure you that most of the academics will leave this country because they have jobs waiting for them outside the country. If they want to go the bizarre way, let them go, the country will pay for it. We also have a choice, if they want to force us to call off the strike, he should jail us.”
Don’t Return To Work, Strike Still In Force, OAU ASUU Tells Members
Meanwhile, ASUU at the Obafemi Awolowo Universities, Ile-Ife, on Monday, told its members that the ongoing industrial action by the lecturers was still in force hence, they should not return to their duty posts.
A statement by OAU ASUU Chairman, Dr. Adeola Egbedokun, directed members of the union not to attend postgraduate seminars and oral examinations.
Egbedokun also told ASUU members not to participate in online classes, processing of results, attendance at statutory meetings, among others.
The statement read in parts, “The strike action is still in force and no member, irrespective of office held, should attend postgraduate seminars and oral examinations, online classes, processing of results (graduating and non-graduating)
“Comrades, let us remain resolute. This government has demonstrated that they do not have the capacity to conspire to do any good unless forced.
“Let no one cajole or blackmail us with the argument about students being the ones suffering the negative effect of our strike.”
