The Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) has declared that its members are not in a hurry to call off the prolonged strike, adding that the union did not reach an agreement with the federal government.
Bibian Anekwe News reports that the leadership of ASUU was offered N65 billion for Earned Academic Allowance and revitalization by the Federal Government in a bid to end the prolonged strike.
The Federal Government led by President Muhammadu Buhari offered the lecturers N65 billion for Earned Academic Allowance and revitalization on Friday, November 20.
This online news platform understands that apart from this, Federal Government also agreed to pay the striking lecturers through the Government Integrated Financial Management Information System) until ASUU’s University Transparency and Accountability Solution (UTAS) is ready for usage.
But speaking to Daily Post, Dr. Edor J. Edor, the ASUU Chairman of University of Calabar, explained that the lingering strike was also in the interest of students.
Dr. Edor stated that only the union branches can suspend the current nationwide industrial action, adding that branches would hold their congresses next week to decide would if the strike should be called off.
He said: “It’s the branches of ASUU that has the supreme power to say we have heard government’s proposal and are comfortable or we are not comfortable.
“For now, the branches have not held their congresses and we may hold our congresses early next week then we will decide if to call off strike or not.
“The situation as it is now is that between ASUU and the federal government there is no agreement yet.
“We will wish that the Nigerian students, parents, leaders, traditional rulers, civil societies and opinion leaders of various communities should understand that it’s in the interest of these students that we are embarking on this action.
“It is so that they would have hope that we are on this action, we are actually on this action so that Nigerian students would no longer cluster in their hostels when they resume school. We are actually on this action so that our daughters who live like sardines in the hostels in the name of accommodation would have spacious and ventilated accommodations. All of them who live in the hostels, I’m making no exception, they have no clean and decent toilet to ease themselves.
“When we are calling for revitalization funds for public universities, we are actually fighting to improve the standard of living of our students who are our children so that we will have decent offices to work in, standard laboratories, standard theatres and other structural materials. We are actually wishing our students and children well and on top of that, we are saying the university teacher can’t take a second place in the society, it’s not done in any part of the world. The people we groom and churn into the society gets there and begins to lord it over us.
“Nigerian government should at least look into the welfare of our members. We are hell bent on government solving this problem this time substantially, we are not in a hurry to suspend this action.”
