Government asks ASUU to shelve strike, seeks dialogue

From the Federal Government came an appeal yesterday that the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) should shelve its strike slated for today, promising to resolve all the contentious issues.

The Permanent Secretary in the Federal Ministry of Education, Dr. Folasade Yemi-Esan, who made the appeal, called for calm, promising that the government would protect the interest of all stakeholders on the matter.

When The Guardian visited the ministry yesterday, the permanent secretary was in a meeting with senior officers of the Department of Tertiary Education, with the aim of resolving the matter.

The Deputy Director of Press, Ben Bem Goong told The Guardian that the meeting was held because the Minister, Malam Adamu Adamu, was out of the country.

“The permanent secretary said all issues raised by ASUU would be resolved amicably. The meeting is being held to prepare the ground for the minister who is on official engagement outside the country. As soon as he returns, all issues will be resolved amicably,” he said.

Goong said the Senate and the House of Representatives committees on education would meet with ASUU today. “The ministry will also be at the meeting,” he said, expressing the hope that the matter would be resolved in good time. “I have never seen where such a meeting failed before,” he said. He reassured parents, students and the general public that the Federal Government would resolve the matter in the interest of all stakeholders, ASUU inclusive.

“The ministry appeals to ASUU to stay calm and await the outcome of efforts going on across board as well as the return of the minister,” Goong appealed.

The Guardian learnt that the academic community was ready for the strike.

An official who spoke anonymously at the University of Abuja said that all academic staff were ready to commence the strike today.

“It’s a union matter, it’s a national strike. The university is going to comply. The fillers I got from everyone that I spoke to on the matter shows that they are all ready for the strike. Only the management staff will work,” he said.

On the impact the strike would have on the academic programme of the university, the official stated that the institution had just resumed academic work and the registration of new and returning students was supposed to be in progress, but that would be stalled by the strike.

Calls placed to the phone line of ASUU president, Prof. Biodun Ogunyemi, indicated the line was switched off at press time.

Backing the ASUU strike, the National Association of Nigerian Students (NANS) called on the government to meet the union’s demands immediately.

NANS President, Aruna Kadiri, told The Guardian that the central issue that forced the union to embark on the new action was the Federal Government’s continued refusal to fully implement the FGN/ASUU agreement signed in 2009.

“I think it is timely for ASUU to say they want to go on strike, the Federal Government is yet to meet up with the agreement it reached with ASUU since 2009. It shows the high level of irresponsibility on the part of government.

“If the government reaches an agreement, no matter the situation, it should try to keep it. We know that the government is faced with a lot of challenges, but it should try to meet up with the agreement,” he said.

The Senate yesterday mandated its President, Bukola Saraki, to as a matter of urgency intervene to stop the planned warning strike by ASUU.

This followed a 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”.

The upper chamber called on the executive arm of government to engage the university teachers in first talks to proffer solutions on how best to implement all the agreements that both bodies entered into since 2009, and implementation of recommendations that are vital for the well-being and development of our universities as canvassed by ASUU.

The legislators said whatever they agreed to be paid by lecturers and other actions to be taken as a result of prayer one above should be captured in the 2017 budget for prompt implementation.

The Senate commended ASUU for choosing the path of dialogue rather than confrontation as a means of resolving all the outstanding issues between it and the Federal Government and urged the union not to relent in its approach of dialogue.

Some universities across the country have declared support for the strike.