Lagos, Aug. 22, 2013(NAN) The National President of the Academic
Staff Union of Universities (ASUU), Dr Nasir Fagge, on Thursday vowed
that ASUU would continue its on-going strike until the union's demands
were met by the Federal Government.
Fagge made the declaration while addressing newsmen at the University of Lagos (UNILAG) on the latest development on the strike.
``I wish to state clearly our position so far in the whole
process of the negotiations with government since the strike commenced.
``We are currently calling on government to meet our demands
as presented in the agreements we both signed in 2009 and then we can
start talking about any other form of re-negotiation.
``A lot of people are asking us to shift grounds by accepting
government’s offer of N30 billion and going back to class while we reach
an agreement on when the next instalments will be paid.
``I do not see that as being acceptable to us for now because
we had made that mistake before, whereby only the salary component of
the agreement was singled out and so we cannot afford to make such a
mistake again.
``I want to make it categorically clear that until this whole
agreement is fully implemented, we are not going to call off this
strike,'' he stated.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that university
lecturers had on June 30, embarked on what they described as a total,
comprehensive and indefinite strike in public universities across the
country.
It will be recalled that members of the union had before now,
been holding deliberations with representatives of government, headed by
Gov. Gabriel Suswam of Benue on ways of resolving the strike.
Fagge explained that both government and ASUU had presented
their demands in 2006 and after three years of negotiations, the parties
succeeded in reaching an agreement in 2009.
According to the ASUU leader, agreements are not negotiable
and that is why the union is insisting on the implementation of the
agreements.
He said that members of the union were determined to prosecute the strike to its logical conclusion.
Fagge said that the implementation of the agreement was a
cardinal issue that must be accomplished by the union as this would give
the much needed impetus for transforming the country’s ivory towers.
He noted that this would not only transform the universities
but would equally make Nigeria visible on the global radar of
development.
The unionist said that the struggle was not just to
re-position the education sector, particularly the university system but
to salvage the country.
He said that members of academia had taken it upon themselves
to reposition the country, so that within the shortest possible time,
Nigeria would find itself amongst the comity of nations that would be
adjudged by the international community as developed.
Fagge, however, regretted that contrary to subsisting
operational procedures, about 75 per cent of the fund meant for the
revitalisation of the universities were not going to be released
directly to the union.
He said that the Suswanm led-committee planned to hand it over
to the National Universities Commission for implementation, adding that
this was ``unacceptable``.
``Until and unless the Suswam committee gives the union a
guarantee that it will not serve as another means of recycling TETFUND
money or divert funds meant for universities, ASUU representatives
will not continue to participate in the deliberation of the committee.”
He said further that revitalisation of infrastructure in the
country’s universities was another key issue that needed immediate
attention if the country intended to produce world-class graduates who
would be presented as future leaders.
Fagge frowned at the desperation of some vice-chancellors who
had undermined the on-going efforts by the union to attract sustainable
funding to support the operations of the universities.
``Some examinations are being conducted under situations that undermine their credibility.
``The conduct of final degree examinations outside the
campuses at UNILAG and the Lagos State University (LASU) with improper
invigilation under policemen cover, casts serious doubts on the
authenticity of such examination.
``The same goes for post-UTME, so far held in some universities.
``We want to appeal to our vice-chancellors to cease from
further eroding the credibility of the academic profession which the
iconic status of their offices represents.”
Fagge pleaded with parents and other stakeholders to join
hands with the union in appealing to the Federal Government to implement
the agreement, to create a better future for the Nigerian child.
He urged them to remain steadfast in the effort to jointly
regain the lost glory of the country’s once enviable citadels of
learning. (NAN)
CCN/FF/SN
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