Students don't want us to end strike - ASUU

The Academic Staff Union of Universities has
said it is continuing its nationwide strike on
the advice of university students.
In a telephone interview with SUNDAY
PUNCH, the President of the union, Dr. Isa
Fagge, said students were tired of the
incessant industrial actions by the university
lecturers due to the Federal Government's
failure to implement the agreement it had
with ASUU since 2009.
Fagge said the union had decided to heed the
advice of the students to continue the strike
until the Federal Government fully
implemented the agreement.
"Our students have come out to say they
don't want us to call off the strike until the
Federal Government answers us, because
they don't want us to call off now and later
we go back to strike again. So, we are
heeding the advice of our students," he said.
On the complaint by the Federal Government
that it lacked the funds to implement the
agreement, Fagge said it was not all about
money, noting that government did not need
funds to start implementing some parts of
the agreement.
"There are issues and agreement they can
implement without money. Why don't they
begin with those ones?" he asked.
He added that it was unfortunate that the
government had pulled out of dialogue with
ASUU, stating that the union would not be
intimidated.
He said, "Now, government has pulled out of
the dialogue. We thought we were the ones
going on strike, but now government has
also gone on strike."
Last Thursday, university students under the
auspices of the National Association of
Nigerian Students reportedly staged a
peaceful protest in Ado-Ekiti and flayed the
Federal Government for failing to honour the
agreement it had with ASUU since 2009.
The students, who were from public
universities, threatened to disrupt activities
of private universities, adding that the
government was not bothered about their
plight because children of government
officials were studying either in private
universities or studying overseas.
The university lecturers began an indefinite
strike on July 1 and have been demanding
full implementation of the agreement ASUU
had with the Federal Government in 2009,
which among other things include the
UNESCO-recommended 26 per cent
budgetary allocation for education. However,
the government said it could not implement
the agreement, and is seeking re-negotiation.
The Federal Government, last Wednesday,
accused ASUU of being unrealistic by
continuing its nationwide strike and asked it
to rethink its demands, considering other
commitments government has.
The Minister of Information, Labaran Maku,
who gave government's position on the strike
when he briefed journalists at the end of the
weekly meeting of the Federal Executive
Council, said apart from security, education
was one of the sectors the government had
expended a lot of money on.