Federal Government has shifted the December 4 deadline it gave striking lecturers under the auspices of Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) to resume duties to December 9.
Executive Secretary of the National Universities Commission (NUC), Julius Okojie, disclosed the new date at a news briefing in Abuja on Tuesday.
Okojie, who hinged the decision on the burial rites for late Professor Festus Iyayi expected to begin on December 5 to 7, said “government decided to shift the deadline after it received the notification of Iyayi’s funeral rites late on Monday.”
He said the decision was also to forestall a situation where government and ASUU would have to deal with matters arising from the ultimatum during the funeral rites of the former ASUU president.
He said the latest directive has been communicated to the various universities Governing Councils and Vice Chancellors for onward transmission to the academic staff, adding that there was no intention to victimise any lecturer for participating in the strike.
He said the victimisation clause which members of ASUU are using to discredit the government never came up when the unionists met with President Goodluck Jonathan on November 4.
According to Okojie, any lecturer that resumes on the December 9 would have his or her salary arrears paid.
Okojie said government as employer of labour cannot just fold its arms while the institutions remained shut and students continue to suffer.
“You cannot pay someone who has failed to resume work. You are on strike and you want to be paid. What if some have already left the system? Some of our very bright lecturers may have gotten jobs elsewhere already,” he said.
Okojie clarified that the resumption order does not necessarily mean students would resume immediately.
He noted that the school environment has to be put back in shape as reptiles may have taken over some places, and the Senate of each institution has to revisit the academic calendar.
“We just received information that the burial rites of Festus Iyayi begins on the 5 of December and would last till 7 December, so based on this information government decided to shift the resumption deadline to 9 December to enable lecturers participate in the burial.
“On the 4th of November, the President, Goodluck Jonathan, had a meeting with ASUU; in attendance were senior government officials, the Ministers of Labour, Finance, Education, NLC, TUC, including the SGF, Chief of Staff to the President and a host of others.
“I recall the remarks Mr President made that day, that was the climax that something has to happen, that all parties had to find a solution to the nagging problems of our universities.
“ASUU came out from that meeting which lasted for over 13 hours to say they would communicate with us through their principal officers; let me also emphasise that the drafting of that communique had the input of ASUU,” the NUC boss stated.
He expressed surprise that ASUU returned three weeks later, after it had failed to get back to government on November 8 as agreed, and demanded addition of new clauses.
“The 2009 Agreement stipulates that any party that wants a re-negotiation should inform the Ministry of Labour. If ASUU had said they would resume, but the outstanding issues must be addressed, government would have no choice,” he said.
On the N200 billion revitalisation fund which ASUU is demanding should be disbursed within two weeks, Okojie said the money has been deposited in an account in the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN).
The money, he said, cannot however be disbursed just anyhow because it is meant for capital projects.
Meanwhile, Supervisory Minister of Education, Nyesom Wike, engaged top executive members of the National Association of Nigerian Students (NANS) in a secret meeting in Abuja on Tuesday.
Journalists were however not privy to the meeting as they were not communicated of the meeting.
The meeting took place at the minister’s conference room at the Federal Ministry of Education.
Another report said on Tuesday that labour and human rights activists from across the country are expected to converge on Benin City, Edo State, today for a solidarity march in honour of Festus Ikhuoria Ojeaga Iyayi, a Professor of Business Administration and former President of ASUU, who was killed in an accident involving a vehicle the convoy of Kogi State Governor, Idris Wada, three weeks ago.
The march which kick starts burial rites for Iyayi, a renowned Commonwealth Award Winner for Literature, begins at 9.00 a.m. from the Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences, University of Benin and will terminate at his residence on 11, Bello Street, off Benin-Lagos Road, Isihor.
Tributes and a lecture entitled, ‘Festus Iyayi: Hero of the Revolution’, are to feature at the venue.
Other highlights of the gathering include cultural performances, literary rendition, dances and video documentary.
A candle light procession is also slated for the former President of the Committee for the Defence of Human Rights (CDHR) at the Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences later in the evening at 7.00 p.m.
According to the burial programme released by the family, a vigil mass/service of songs will hold on Thursday at his residence between 4.00 p.m. and 6.00 p.m.
This will be followed by a Night of Readings and Tributes, also at his residence from 7.00 to 9.00 p.m.
A lying-in-state will hold at his residence from 8.00 a.m. on Friday, while a commendation service is scheduled for Akin Deko (Main) Auditorium, University of Benin, Ugbowo Campus, Benin City later at 10.00 a.m.
The corpse is expected to depart Benin at 12.00 noon for Ugbegun, Esan Central Local Government area, where another lying-in-state has been planned for 2.00 p.m.
A vigil that will also feature readings and tributes is scheduled for the country home from 8.00 p.m.
A funeral mass is slated for 8.00 a.m. on Saturday to be followed by internment.
Entertainment of guests will hold at Ugbegun Grammar School field while the burial events will be rounded up on Sunday with a Thanksgiving Mass at St Michael’s Catholic Church, Ugbegun.
President of the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC), Abdulwaheed Omar, was also in Benin on Tuesday on a condolence visit to the Iyayi family.
He criticised the Federal Government for its inability to fix the Lokoja-Abuja road which led to the death of Iyayi.
Omar who said he was in the state on a condolence visit to Edo State Governor, Adams Oshiomhole, and the bereaved family, described the late academic as a committed activist who added value to the labour movement in the country.
“We believe that certain factors led to the demise of Professor Iyayi. The Federal Government is highly culpable on the issue of the criminal neglect of the Abuja-Lokoja road which contract was awarded over 10 years ago. While other roads have been completed, the Lokoja-Abuja road is uncompleted.
“We believe if not for the criminal neglect, this accident would not have happened. Also the executive recklessness on the part of the Kogi Government is glaring. This is said to be the third time that the same convoy is getting involved in accidents,” Omar said.
He challenged Nigerians to rise to the occasion of ensuring that things were done the right way to avoid a repeat of such incident.
Omar said the death of Iyayi is not only a loss to the family and the state but also to the labour movement and the Nigerian nation.
He expressed the hope that Iyayi’s legacies would not be allowed to die with him.
Responding, the Governor, Oshiomhole, said there are several lessons to be learnt from the death of Iyayi.
Oshiomhole said “the fact that he retired as ASUU president many years ago and yet he had always identified with ASSU and be part of their struggle decades after he ceased to be their president is a testimony to the level of his conviction.
“The way we generally drive on our roads is not good enough. Convoys are generally bad, but not once, not twice I dismissed drivers in my convoy.
“It is a challenge, people think the best way to show power is to oppress. I think all of us must work to get our drivers and security details to respect the right of the citizens,” Oshiomhole said.
Meanwhile, the UNIBEN chapter of ASUU on Tuesday said it will continue the current strike action until the demand of the union were met, calling on President Goodluck Jonathan to continue dialoging with the union, just as it observed that the only way to find amicable and lasting solution to the crises was roundtable discussion on the issue.
The union, which took this stand at the end of its meeting in Benin, also said it reposed absolute confidence in the leadership of the union at all levels, especially in the manner the strike was being prosecuted.
It also resolved to disregard the Federal Government directive to academics to sign a register to resume work as non-members of the branch will sign the said register.
Similarly, Ekiti State university branch of ASUU has urged President Jonathan to take a cue from past Nigerian leaders who adopted sack threat as a weapon to silence the union and failed.
The university ASUU Chairman and Coordinator, Ilorin Zone, Ayan Adeleke, described the threat to sack over 93,000 academic staff across all public universities as empty threat.
Senior Special Assistant to the President on Public Affairs, Doyin Okupe, again on Tuesday stated that there is no reason for the ongoing industrial action by the lecturers to continue.
He spoke as a guest on Channels Television flagship breakfast programme, ‘Sunrise Daily’.
Okupe said that from the government’s perspective, everything that needs to be done has been done and whether the strike would be called off or not now lies in the hands of the leadership of ASUU.
Delta State University chapter of ASUU also resolved to continue to support the national leadership of the union until the strike was formally suspended.
But Academic activities have begun at the Ebonyi State University, Abakaliki, following the return to work directive to lecturers issued by the authorities of the university.
A News Agency of Nigeria correspondent who visited the university on Tuesday observed that lectures were going on in virtually all departments at the three campuses of the institution.
At the College of Agricultural Sciences, some students were seen receiving lectures while others were either loitering or discussing in groups.
At the Department of Animal Sciences and Law Faculty, students who spoke to NAN confirmed that they received lectures in the morning.
“We have started lectures since last week, even now we just received lectures but I don’t know about other departments,” Okechukwu Mbam, a year-two Agric Science student, said.
A Senior Lecturer in the Department of English, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said lectures began last week, adding that students were gradually returning.
“I taught my students twice last week. The school is bubbling and the students are gradually returning.
“We came back to school based on the directive of the school management even before the Federal Government’s directive,” he said.
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