ASUU Strike Would End In Few Days Not Months If FG Respond -Lecturers

The Education Minister, Mr. Wike said Tuesday that the face-off between the Federal Government and ASUU would be resolved in few months. Reacting, however, ASUU leaders argued that the strike could end in next few days and not months if only the Federal Government had the political will to implement the 2009 agreement it made with the union. Stakeholders in the education sector, yesterday, took the supervising Minister of Education, Mr. Nyesom Wike to task over his declaration that the on-going strike by Academic Staff Union of Universities, ASUU, would be called off in a few months. The Senate on its part appealed to ASUU to call off the strike, blaming government negotiators for being ignorant by signing an agreement that could not be implemented. Similarly, Committee of Vice Chancellors and Registrars of private Universities in Nigeria said it had commenced moves to wade into the face-off with a view to ending the strike. Mr. Wike said Tuesday that the face-off between the Federal Government and ASUU would be resolved in few months. Reacting, however, ASUU leaders argued that the strike could end in next few days and not months if only the Federal Government had the political will to implement the 2009 agreement it made with the union. The Chairman of ASUU Chapter of the Niger Delta University, Dr. Beke Sese said “We were surprised when we heard the comment, because we believe that the strike can end in 24 or 48 hours if the government has the political will to do it. “It is not that we want the strike to go on much longer, but the issues on ground are more pertinent than days or weeks.” Dr. Adesola Nassir, the chairman ASUU, Ibadan zone said the only way the minister’s assertion could hold water was if the Federal Government was ready to honour the agreement it had with the union in 2009. Nassir said: “My only guess is that the supervising Minister of education and the Federal Government must be ready to do what is right and implement the 2009 agreement, because that is the only solution to bring an end to the strike. “All we have seen from the government in our different meetings is begging; government begging us to keep patching up the education sector so we can continue to churn out half-baked graduates as a result of lack of infrastructure.