BEVERLY HILLS, November 15, (THEWILL) – Senators on Tuesday mandated the Senate President, Bukola Saraki, to personally lead efforts towards resolving the brewing industrial crisis between the Federal Government and the Academic Staff Union of Universities, ASUU.
Coming barely 24 hours after the lecturers announced one-week warning strike, starting on Wednesday, November 16, the Senate resolved to muster efforts aimed at nipping a protracted ASUU strike in the bud.
ASUU had on Monday stated that the warning strike is over the failure of the Federal Government to implement terms of the 2009 and 2013 agreements.
The Senate resolution followed a motion on “matter of urgent national importance” with regards to the planned ASUU industrial action by Jibrin Barau (APC-Kano).
Speaking at the University of Abuja, ASUU President, Biodun Ogunyemi, said, “Many aspects of the 2013 MoU and the 2009 agreement with the Federal Government have either been unimplemented or despairingly handled.
“The agreements are: Payments of staff entitlements since December 2015, funding of universities for revitalisation, pension, TSA and university autonomy and renegotiation of 2009 Agreement.”
Backing ASUU in his motion, Senator Barau held that the union was agitating for smooth running of Nigerian public universities and staff welfare which basically formed the terms of the agreements perfunctorily implemented – or not implemented at all – by the Federal Government.
In his contribution, Danjuma Goje (APC-Gombe), decried the woes suffered by students of public universities whenever lecturers embark on strike, thereby calling for avoidance of ASUU strike.
The Senate Leader, Ali Ndume said the Senate as a “stabilising arm” should immediately intervene.
For Senator Emmanuel Paulker (PDP-Bayelsa) the Senate should “do all within its powers to totally” stop ASUU strike.
He said the Federal Government should reach a middle ground with respect to the demand of the lecturers for universities to be excused from TSA implementation.
Meanwhile, the union’s National President, Prof. Biodun Ogunyemi, has stated that there is no going back on its one-week warning strike scheduled to begin tommorrow, adding that the strike would be total.
He told newsmen on telephone on Tuesday in Lagos that chronic under-funding of the sector through low budgetary allocation, which went from 11 per cent in 2015 to eight per cent in 2016, did not go down well with the union.
Ogunyemi pointed out the failure of government to implement the 2009 agreement and the 2013 Memorandum of Understanding, MoU, as some of the reasons for embarking on the warning strike.
The union’s president said that his members were tired of what they described as “government’s empty promises’’ in setting up its negotiation team for the review of agreement as consistently requested by ASUU since 2012.
“There shall be no teaching, no examination and no attendance of statutory meetings of any kind in any of our branches while the strike lasts,’’ he said.
According to him, the union will put machinery in place to ensure that there is total compliance during the strike.
Ogunyemi explained that the essence of the warning strike was to draw attention of concern stakeholders and the general public to the challenges that the unions, universities and other stakeholders in the sector were facing.
“Nobody will say before we exhaust the warning strike some issues cannot be addressed if government want to be sincere with our cause.
“We are doing this because we want Nigerians to come into the matter and ensure that these issues are given adequate attention they deserve.
“Our lecturers are given 40 per cent of their salaries, which is just not encouraging, as this will lead to poor commitment in carrying out their jobs.
“I am sure nobody will like a 40 per cent university education or 40 per cent teaching of various courses including research development and output.
“That is why we have to take the matter before the National Assembly, which we believe, will come into the matter just like the Nigerian parents,’’ he said.
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