ASUU Adamant As Deadline Expires Today, Says No Going Back

Public university lecturers under the umbrella of the Academic Staff Union of Universities, ASUU, on Sunday insisted that they would not return to the classrooms on Monday as directed by the federal government.

They also accused the President Gooodluck Jonathan-led Government of insincerity in its bid to resolve the 6 months old dispute. ASUU President, Dr. Nasir Fagge, confirmed their stand to go on with the strike...

The Federal Government had through the Executive Secretary of the National Universities Commission, Prof. Julius Okojie, deferred its earlier ultimatum to the lecturers to resume work on Monday (today) or risk being sacked. The shift was to enable them to participate in the burial of Prof. Festus Iyayi, a former president of ASUU on Saturday.

Before this, the Supervising Minister of Education, Nyesom Wike, had advised the striking lecturers to return to work on or before December 4 or face dismissal.

But ASUU had in a news bulletin to its chapters after its meeting in Ekpoma, Edo State on Sunday, said the Federal Government had not met its conditions for suspending the over five months’ strike.

When asked by Punch if the members of the union would go back to work today and if they had confirmed the N200bn the Federal Government claimed to have deposited in a special account at the Central Bank of Nigeria, Fagge simply replied, “No to both questions.”

ASUU had in the bulletin insisted that the government threat to sack its members would not break the union’s resolve to pursue its action to a logical conclusion.

A source privy to the meeting, said:

“No Jupiter will force us to go and teach until all the agreements are documented. The Federal Government is not sincere. If indeed the authorities have agreed, why will they be afraid to document what has been agreed upon?

“Let the vice-chancellors, who can teach, go and do so. But our members are determined not to sign any attendance register tomorrow (today). The threat does not bother us, as truth will always supercede deception, lies and any form of intimidation.”