The Federal Government, yesterday, reviewed the seven-day ultimatum given to striking university lecturers to resume today or be sacked as it now gave them till Monday, December 9. This came as most members of the Academic Staff Union of Universities remained adamant and vowed to continue with the strike until their demands were met.
ASUU president, Dr. Nasir Issa Fagge has also assured that once the government opens the bank account with N200 billion as requested by the union, the strike would be suspended.
Supervising Minister of Education, Nyesom Wike, who announced the shift in the date for the
compulsory resumption of Federal Universities to Monday, December 9, said it was as a mark of respect for the former National President of the Academic Staff Union of Universities, ASUU, Professor Festus Iyayi, who died in an auto accident on his way to a National Executive Committee meeting of ASUU.
Speaking in Abuja, yesterday, Mr Wike said that the family of the late Professor Iyayi officially informed the ministry of the burial rites for the late ASUU President through the National Universities Commission, NUC, on Monday, hence the shift in the mandatory resumption date.
He said that the Federal Government will fully participate in the burial rites of the former ASUU President.
According to a statement by the minister’s Special Assistant, Simeon Nwakaudu: “The decision to shift the date of the compulsory resumption of Federal Universities for academic activities has been taken as a result of the respect we have for the former ASUU President”.
Wike stated that the Federal Government took the decision to re-open the universities in the interest of Nigerians and not to engender any form of show-down with ASUU.
He said Nigerians must appreciate the fact that the pro-chancellors and chairmen of the Federal Universities Governing Councils took the decision to re-open the schools, pointing out that the Federal Government’s directive was to the vice-chancellors who are expected to comply with the directive of the pro-chancellors.
The minister also said that the Federal Government has already opened a dedicated account for the revival of infrastructure in the universities, while the Permanent Secretary, Federal Ministry of Education has signed the resolution that the Federal Government will commit N1.3trillion into the revival of infrastructure in the universities.
He stated that despite the repeated misrepresentation of facts on the 2009 FGN-ASUU agreement, the Federal Government had implemented over 80 per cent of the issues contained in the document, with only the payment of earned allowances and revitalisation of infrastructure pending.
Complying lecturers to get salary arrears
The Executive Secretary of the National Universities Commission, NUC, Professor Julius Okojie, who briefed journalists in Abuja, yesterday, said the Federal Government was ready to pay the four-month salary arrears owed academic staff who returns to work.
According to him: “Councils have been directed to shift the resumption date to December 9. The new deadline, has already been communicated to the Pro-Chancellors Tuesday (yesterday) morning.
“The Federal Government as an employer of labour cannot just fold its arms while the institutions remain shut and its clients — the students — continue to suffer.
“You cannot pay someone who has failed to resume work. You are on strike and you want to be paid. What if some have already left the system? Some of our very bright lecturers may have got jobs elsewhere already.”
Okojie noted that “the resumption order does not necessarily mean students would commence academic activities immediately but the school environment has to be put back in shape as reptiles may have taken over some places, and the Senate of each institution has to revisit the academic calendar. Students would be expected to resume one or two weeks after the December 9 resumption deadline,”.
Okojie while responding to several issues raised by ASUU, insisted that it was a general consensus at the November 4, 2013 meeting with the President to have the Permanent Secretary of the Education Ministry sign the resolutions reached after the meeting.
Okojie stressed that the issue of the inclusion of a non-victimization clause as now demanded by ASUU did not even come up at all during and after the meeting.
“Jega and Awuzie are past ASUU chairmen. Are they not holding good positions in Nigeria today? Why would anyone victimize someone for exercising his right? If anyone would do such a thing, not the Jonathan government. In fact the mood that day did not reflect such, we were all smiles and hugs. After that meeting we were all hopeful that was the end of the crises,” he said.
He wondered why ASUU would return three weeks later, after it had failed to get back to government on November 8 as agreed, and demand addition of new clauses.
He said: “The 2009 Agreement stipulates that any party that wants a re-negotiation should inform the Ministry of Labour. If ASUU had said they would resume, but the outstanding issues must be addressed, government would have no choice,”.
On the N200 billion revitalization fund which ASUU is demanding should be disbursed within two weeks, Okojie diclosed that the money has been deposited in an account in the Central Bank of Nigeria.
“The money cannot, however, be disbursed just anyhow because they are meant for capital projects”, he said.
Okojie again appealed to the striking union to return to work in the interest of students who he described as the victims.
“One of the universities in Uganda where our children are enrolling, neigbouring countries do not even accept their degrees. Our children are going to schools with poorer degrees,” he lamented.
No comments:
Post a Comment
Thanks for your comment