Tuesday 9 July 2013

Strike: ASUU walks out on FG, NASS team


The leadership of the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) yesterday walked out on the National Assembly Joint Committee on Education and a Federal Government's negotiating team.

Chairman Senate  Committee on Education, Senator Uche Chukwumerijie and his House of  Representatives counterpart, Hon Aminu Suleiman had invited representatives of the Federal Government and ASUU to the National Assembly with the aim of ending the ongoing strike by the university teachers.

The Minister of Education, Prof. Ruqquayatu Rufa'i, the Minister of Labour and Productivity, Emeka Wogu, the Executive Secretary of the National Universities Commission (NUC), Prof.  Julius Okojie, among others represented the Federal Government at the meeting.

However, when the ASUU delegation got to the proposed venue of the meeting,  they met the Chukwumerijie led joint Committee meeting with representatives of the Academic Staff Union of Polytechnics (ASUP) and the Colleges of Education Academic Staff Union (COEASU) in a meeting.

While the meeting with ASUP was meant to resolve the over two months strike by polytechnic teachers, that of COEASU was meant to avert a similar action in Colleges of Education.

Notwithstanding that Chukwumerijie who chaired the meeting sent a message to the ASUU delegation to give him 10 minutes to round up the session, they stormed out of the National Assembly for being kept waiting by the Committee and the Federal Government's delegation.

The Committee was shocked on rounding up the meeting that the ASUU delegation did not heed the plea of its chairman to give it time to conclude its meeting.

Former Chairman, House Committee on Education, Hon. Farouk Lawan urged the Committee to discountenance the ASUU's action in the interest of students thrown out of school by the strike and the country's education sector.

However, a member of the Committee, Hon Jerry Alagboso described the action of ASUU as "intellectual arrogance".

He called on the leadership of the Committee to formally write to warn ASUU against such tendencies in future.

The Minister of Education, Ruqquayatu Rufa'i and the Minister of Education, Emeka Wogu did not comment.

Chairman House Committee on Education, Aminu Suleiman noted that as a former, such actions were not new in labour relations.

He called on the lawmakers to take the treatment with maturity and in the interest of the nations's education sector and the students now made to stay at home because of the strike.

Chukwumerijie said the Committee will reach out to ASUU with the aim of reconvening the meeting next week.

Meanwhile, the National Assembly Joint Committee on Education, Rufa'i and Wogu yesterday appealed to ASUP to call off their over two months strike.

Chukwumerijie promised that the Committee would work to ensure that the issues that led o the strike were resolved within the next two weeks.

National President of ASUP, Comrade Chibuzo Asomugha, said any decision to suspend the strike can only be taken at the National Executive Council (NEC) meeting of the union.

He was however not specific on when the union would convene its NEC meeting.

The committee also pleaded with the Asagha Emmanuel Nkoro-led COEASU to give it time to intervene in their industrial dispute with the Federal Government to avert the proposed strike.

Information from The Nation Newspaper was used in this report.

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