Drama As ASUU President Rejects N50m Intervention to End Strike, Nigerians React

Drama As ASUU President Rejects N50m Intervention to End Strike, Nigerians React

  • For obvious reasons and more, the leadership of ASUU is unwilling to end the industrial strike action
  • According to ASUU President, Prof. Emmanuel Osodeke, the federal government is yet to meet their demands
  • In a new development, Osodeke and his team refused the N50 million cash donated by Governor Udom Emmanuel of Akwa Ibom state, raised to end the ongoing strike action

There was a mild drama when the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) rejected Berekete Family radio’s intervention to end the ongoing strike, Daily Trust reports.

ASUU has been on strike since February and all efforts to make lecturers return to the classrooms have not yielded results.

On Saturday morning, June 11, the host of the radio programme, Ahmad Isah, popularly known as Ordinary president, invited ASUU president, Prof. Emmanuel Osodeke, and his team, to explain to Nigerians the perennial problems and state why the union is still on strike.

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ASUU, N50m Intervention, Prof. Emmanuel Osodeke, University Transparency Accountability Solution, TAJ Bank, Governor Udom Emmanuel
ASUU insists the federal government is yet to meet its demands. Photo credit: Senator Chris Ngige
Source: Facebook

The radio host explains further

Isah also said he had set up a special intervention bank account domiciled in TAJ Bank to raise funds for the union, with a view to ending the strike.

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Apparently, to convince ASUU to buy into the idea of the intervention, Isah publicly showed the N50 million cash donated by Governor Udom Emmanuel of Akwa Ibom state.

ASUU rejected the cash

Immediately after the money was displayed, ASUU President frowned at the development, saying they should not be associated with such.

At that point, Isah threatened to discontinue the intervention and many Nigerians who phoned in during the programme described ASUU as insensitive.

The striking lecturers’ demands include, funding for the revitalisation of public universities, Earned Academic Allowances, University Transparency Accountability Solution (UTAS) and promotion arrears.

Others are the renegotiation of the 2009 ASUU-FG Agreement and the inconsistency in Integrated Personnel Payroll Information System (IPPIS).

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In an interview last month, Osedeke disclosed that none of these demands had been met by the federal government.

The ASUU president also said that the government had also refused to accept UTAS that he said had been tested and passed with a score of 99.3 percent.

Osedeke urged the Federal Government to do the needful in order for students to return to school.

Nigerians react

Nigerians in their usual way took to the official Facebook page of Legit.ng and reacted to the development.

Some lauded the move by ASUU, others blamed the President Muhammadu Buhari-led administration, which has failed to make education a top priority.

Blessed Emmanuel said

"Some students who are away from school as a result of the strike will still have the courage to support the old political gladiators whose their children school abroad, to continue ruling as election draws near."

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MaryAnn E Eriom said

"Seriously? They can cough out 100million for forms, but cannot sort our ASUU and some youths are still hyping them, you see Peter Obi, we die there."

Splenzzy Ugochukwu said

"And some efulefu students are out there supporting ancient of days to take over power from ancient of days...."

Orji King-Maxz urges

"As long this Government is concern, forget about school.. Na scam.. Go and learn a skill and help your life.."

Nongun Godwin Terungwa said

"You see the main cause of this prolonged Asuu strike are the so called professors who sold out their conscience to take bribe and rig election for the old leaders."

Ij Ifeanyi stated

"50million Naira,,, Nonsense!!! Is it up to the amount one delegate collected in the just concluded Presidential primaries???

Fedrick Emmanuel said

"Nah ASSU even strike more than thunder in this country."

Felix Kalu said

"Students vote PETER OBI and continue ur school without strike."

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Victor Madueze said

"It's better we forget about school in this kwantry."

Hope for Nigerian students as FG moves to end ASUU strike with payment of N34bn minimum wage arrears

The federal government has said it would pay about N34bn minimum wage consequential adjustments to education sector workers with effect from 2019, The Punch reports.

The beneficiaries include the members of the striking Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) and their counterparts in the polytechnics and Colleges of Education.

The minister of labour and employment, Senator Chris Ngige, made this disclosure on Tuesday, May 24, while responding to questions from labour correspondents in Abuja on the prolonged ASUU strike.

My children also affected, minister of education Nwajiuba sympathises with ASUU over strike action

Nigeria's minister of education on behalf of the federal government had pleaded with the leadership of the ASUU to end the ongoing strike action.

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Emeka Nwajiuba said that while the FG understands that the demands of ASUU are genuine, it also believes that a strike is not the best approach to resolving these issues.

According to the minister, the industrial action is affecting every citizen of the country in one way or the other including his family.

Source: Legit.ng

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