In a shocking statement, the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) has claimed that it is continuing its nationwide strike with the support and advice of university students.
This claim was made by the President of the union, Dr. Isa Fagge in an interview that the students are equally tired of the constant strikes by their lecturers due to the failure of the Federal Government to implement its agreement with ASUU since 2009.
However, they have given ASUU the backing to continue with its two-month old strike until FG fully implemented the agreement.
“Our students have come out to say they don’t want us to call off the strike until the Federal Government answers us, because they don’t want us to call off now and later we go back to strike again. So, we are heeding the advice of our students,” he said.
On the complaint by the Federal Government that it lacked the funds to implement the agreement, Fagge said it was not all about money, noting that government did not need funds to start implementing some parts of the agreement.
“There are issues and agreement they can implement without money. Why don’t they begin with those ones?” he asked.
He added that it was unfortunate that the government had pulled out of dialogue with ASUU, stating that the union would not be intimidated.
He said, “Now, government has pulled out of the dialogue. We thought we were the ones going on strike, but now government has also gone on strike.”
Last Thursday, university students under the auspices of the National Association of Nigerian Students reportedly staged a peaceful protest in Ado-Ekiti and flayed the Federal Government for failing to honour the agreement it had with ASUU since 2009.
The students, who were from public universities, also threatened to disrupt activities of private universities, as they opined that the government was not bothered about their plight because children of government officials were studying either in private universities or studying overseas.
The university lecturers began an indefinite strike on July 1 and have been demanding full implementation of the agreement ASUU had with the Federal Government in 2009, which among other things include the UNESCO-recommended 26 per cent budgetary allocation for education. However, the government said it could not implement the agreement, and is seeking re-negotiation.
The Federal Government, last Wednesday, accused ASUU of being unrealistic by continuing its nationwide strike and asked it to rethink its demands, considering other commitments government has.
The Minister of Information, Labaran Maku, who gave government’s position on the strike when he briefed journalists at the end of the weekly meeting of the Federal Executive Council, said apart from security, education was one of the sectors the government had expended a lot of money on.