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Ongoing exams threatened
By Gabriel Dike, Lagos
Members of the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) have voted overwhelmingly for an indefinite strike if the Federal Government fails to address their outstanding demands. The news comes as the nationwide protests directed by the National Executive Council (NEC) of ASUU continued in many universities on Tuesday, August 26.
Some of the universities that held their emergency congresses approved a strike, with many supporting an indefinite action. A former ASUU chairman in the Lagos zone told Daily Sun that the six branches in the zone endorsed a strike. He said members overwhelmingly gave NEC the go-ahead to declare a strike if the government fails to implement the outstanding demands.
“At our various congresses in the zone, members expressed displeasure about the attitude of the present administration to ASUU’s demands. We acknowledge the meeting of Thursday, August 28th; if nothing good comes out of it, NEC will take the appropriate step.
“The only language the government understands is strike. Can you imagine, 16 years after the government and ASUU signed an agreement in 2009 that will address many issues in public universities, the present and previous governments have failed to implement it. The congresses have spoken.”
Reports from other zones indicate the same endorsement for a national strike if the government does not act fast before the next NEC meeting. At UNILAG, FUNAAB, OOU, and three other universities, ASUU members approved an indefinite strike if the Tinubu-led administration fails to act swiftly.
ASUU-UNILAG chairman, Prof. Idowu Kehinde, said members in various universities are hungry and are teaching on empty stomachs because of poor welfare and non-payment of three and a half months of outstanding salaries.
Prof. Kehinde disclosed that the Federal Government, with its current attitude, is pushing ASUU to embark on a national strike. He called on Nigerians to appeal to the government to do the needful before it is too late.
Some of the placards read: “Education is life, pay lecturers living wages”, “Neglect of university education is a path to underdevelopment”, and “Proper funding of university education is non-negotiable”.
Details of the resolutions reached at the various congresses of ASUU indicate overwhelming decisions for a strike. Daily Sun gathered that the university lecturers at the various referendums held on Monday, August 25, and Tuesday, August 26, voted for industrial action.
One of the branch chairmen told Daily Sun that his congress voted for an indefinite strike. The UNILAG lecturers are protesting the failure of the Federal Government to address their demands.
The protest started after the union concluded their emergency congress and condemned the attitude of the government to ASUU demands, including the 2009 FG/ASUU signed agreement. The protest paralysed academic activities on campus and created a traffic gridlock as the lecturers moved the venue of the congress to the main gate and to the Senate Building.
Some of the lecturers carried a large banner and several placards with various inscriptions. The protest/rally took place in seven public universities in the Lagos zone.
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