ASUU Strike: NANS asks govt, ASUU to resume negotiation

Published: September 19,2013

From Left: Former Minister Of Education, Prof. Ruqayyatu Rufa’i; Executive Secretary, National Universities Commission (Nuc), Prof. Julius Okojie; Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF), Sen. Anyim Pius Anyim and Minister of Labour, Chukwuemeka Nwogu, at the meeting of the SGF with Pro-Chancellors and Vice Chancellors of Public Universities in Abuja on Friday

The students say they are tired of staying at home and wasting away their futures as a result of the ASUU strike

The National Association of Nigerian students(NANS) has called on the federal government and the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) to return to the negotiation table and quickly hammer out an agreement that will end the ongoing strike by university teachers.

The student body also requested both sides to keep an open mind and be ready to shift ground so as to put an end to the suffering of students and parents.

Speaking to journalists Monday at the headquarters of the Federal Ministry of Education, John Shima the acting Senate president of NANS, said, “ASUU and Federal Government should go back to the negotiating table. Even during wars, issues are resolved at the roundtables. Nigerian students have been idle for 78 days.

“Nigerian students are tired of sitting at home. Both parties are urged to shift ground to ensure quick resolution of the crisis.’

“We lost almost three years of study time in the last 10 years due to strikes; the lost time is enough to graduate a student in Germany.”

The students had besieged the ministry to meet with Minister Nyesom Wike for an update on what the government was doing to end the strike.

But the meeting was later postponed till next week to allow Mr. Wike himself receive briefings from the government negotiating team.

Meanwhile, chairman of the Federal Government negotiating team and Benue State governor, Gabriel Suswam, has threatened to go hard on striking lecturers of Benue State University, Makurdi.

He said he would insist on a policy of “no work, no pay” policy if the lecturers in the state university refused to call off what he described as their “sympathy strike”.

He said the state-owned universities, such as that of Benue, should pull out of the strike, since it was the federal universities and not those of states that were involved in the negotiation with the Federal Government.

Mr. Suswam further explained that the Benue State University was already benefiting from the earned allowance for which the Federal Government voted N30 billion and had no cause to complain.