By Taiye Odewale with agency report
Abuja
Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) said that there was no going back on its one-week warning strike scheduled to begin today.
The union said this even as the Senate, yesterday directed the Senate President, Bukola Saraki to wade into the crisis with a view to stopping the university teachers from the strike.
Biodun Ogunyemi, the union’s National President, told the News Agency of Nigeria on telephone yesterday in Lagos that the strike would be total.
The union leadership, after its emergency executive committee meeting, declared the warning strike at a news conference on Monday in Abuja.
The president said that its 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.”
According to him, the union will put machinery in place to ensure that there is total compliance during the strike.
“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.
However, Senate’s Point of Order (42 and 52) raised by Senator Jibrin Barau (APC, Kano North) titled: “The Need for the Federal Government to Urgently Re-engage ASUU to amicably resolve the issues in dispute.”
It said whatever they agreed to be paid to lecturers and other actions to be taken as a result of prayer one above should be captured in the 2017 budget for prompt implementation.
He said: “The Academic Staff Union of Universities is insisting that if the federal government of Nigeria continued to fail to implement their aforesaid agreements with which it had as well as made certain key necessities, the public shall continue to be imperiled in carrying out their functions as centre for knowledge acquisition, research and community service in the tradition of citadels of learning.
In his remarks, Senate President, Bukola Saraki, said it was very important for the Senate to prevent the strike in the interest of the people that they represent, noting that the federal government must implement all agreements reached by the both parties.
“It is very important that we prevent the strike in the interest of the people that we represent and to ensure that these agreements, which are over seven years, now, are seeing to be implemented”, Saraki said.
