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NAAT blames govt for labour crisis in varsities

By Collins Olayinka, Abuja
20 February 2018   |   3:42 am
The National Association of Academic Technologists (NAAT) has blamed the on-going strike action by the three non-academic staff unions in the universities on the lackadaisical attitude of the Federal Government.  

NASU, SSANU and NAAT during the meeting recently

The National Association of Academic Technologists (NAAT) has blamed the on-going strike action by the three non-academic staff unions in the universities on the lackadaisical attitude of the Federal Government.  

The President of NAAT, Sani Suleiman, who stated this in Abuja, vowed that the strike action would be sustained until the Federal Government addresses their agitation.He explained that all the meetings held with the three non-academic staff unions that include Non-Academic Staff Union of Universities and Associated Institutions (NASU) and Senior Staff Union of Nigerian Universities (SSANU) by the Minister of Education, Minister of State for Education, Labour and Employment and House of Representatives committee on Education have not yielded desired result.

He said: “We have sent national monitoring team to all the universities and the result we got as far as the strike is concerned is encouraging and so we will continue with the strike until we hear something favourable from the government”
Meanwhile, the National Executive Council (NEC) of NAAT has flayed the Federal Government over its inaction at resolving the lingering crisis, which has entered 75 days.

In a communiqué issued at the end of its meeting held at the Kaduna State University, the NEC of the union resolved to continue with the strike saying by its attitude, the union wonders how much importance if any, the government attaches to education. 

The communiqué, which was signed NAAT General Secretary, Iyoyo Hamilton, urged the Federal Government to take necessary steps towards the resolution of the impasse. 

The communiqué read in part: “NAAT observes with dismay, the extremely slow pace by which the federal government is handling the renegotiation of the 2009 FGN/NAAT Agreement for Universities, Colleges of Education and Polytechnics. We urge government to embark upon the renegotiation exercise with the seriousness it deserves.”

The union also frowned at the growing fuel queues across the country.It stated that the queues have lingered for too long, adding that the resultant adverse effects have been increase in transport fares, increase in food prices as well as other goods and services, leading to excruciating hardship on the populace.

It therefore called on government to take urgent steps to address the situation permanently.However, the union commended government efforts aimed at diversifying the economy through agriculture, stressing that available records from the National Bureau of statistics indicate steady decline in importation of some food items, which indicated progress in food production.

The union advised government to maintain focus and ensure the impact is felt by Nigerians through stable and affordable food prices.

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