Minister of Labour and Employment, Chief Chris Ngige
ASUU/FG standoff throws education sector in turmoil, as 8-week warning strike ends, Monday
Second round of the eight-week warning industrial action embarked upon by members of the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) ends Monday, even as the issues at stake remain unresolved following Federal Government’s refusal to meet demands of the striking lecturers.
Federal Government’s only response has so far to terminate the salaries of the striking teachers. This is even as protests across university campuses characterised the past week as students marched through the streets in Lagos and Edo states to register their grievances against the lingering industrial action.
It is believed that at the expiration of the warning strike, the varsity teachers will commence on indefinite industrial action.
ASUU’s National Executive Committee (NEC) had earlier given the go-ahead to the national leadership to call out members on indefinite strike if nothing tangible was achieved during the eight weeks of their warning strike.
The union had earlier gone on a month warning strike on February 14 this year, and extended it by another eight weeks which comes to an end on Monday, May 9, 2022.
While ASUU was into the second round of its warning strike, other staff unions in the university system also embarked on strike.
Senior Staff Association of Nigerian Universities (SSANU), which is the non-academic members of varsities, the National Association of Academic Technologists (NAAT), and the Non-Academic Staff Union of Education and Allied Institutions (NASU).
In addition, the Academic Staff Union of Polytechnics (ASUP) is also gearing up to join the strike action.
In solidarity with the affiliate members’ action, the Nigerian Labour Congress (NLC) has already issued a notice of industrial action to the Federal Government over the latter’s failure to resolve these issues in the education sector.
Minister of Labour and Employment, Dr Chris Ngige, had fruitlessly met with the leadership of SSANU, NAAT, and NASU he is yet to meet with ASUU leadership, though he announced last weekend that he would meet with them.
“We too heard it in the news what the Minister of Labour said about meeting with us, but as we talk, nobody has reached out to us for any meeting. We don’t know when the meeting will be called. “However, I think before going to the press to announce any proposed meeting, what ought to have been done is to inform us. Anyway, we are waiting for the meeting when it is called,” said National President of ASUU, Prof. Emmanuel Osodeke, on his union’s non-invitation to the meeting with the minister, weekend.
