Following the Federal Government’s failure to successfully negotiate with the union’s national body, some branches of the Academic Staff Union of Universities in state-owned universities have vowed to remain on strike.
According to The PUNCH, Chairpersons of ASUU in the affected state universities described as “ignorant” calls for the suspension of the strike in state-owned universities.
It would be recalled that the national body of ASUU had on Monday, February 14, 2022 declared a national strike, thereby grounding academic activities in federal universities and some state-owned universities across the country.
The Federal Government was asked to do a number of things by the national body, including releasing revitalization funds to universities, paying earned allowances, implementing the University Transparency Accountability System to ensure that professors are paid on time, and publishing a white paper on the visitation panels that are currently in place.
Although some state universities like the Kwara State University, Lagos State University, Osun State University, and Kaduna State University among others pulled out of the strike, findings revealed that the majority of state-owned universities remain on strike.
Such universities include Ekiti State University; Gombe State University; Olabisi Onabanjo University and Tai-Solarin University of Education, Ogun State; Ladoke Akintola University of Technology, Oyo state; Adekunle Ajasin University, Ondo State; Bauchi State University; Benue State University, Ibrahim Babaginda University, Niger; Yusuf Maitama Sule University, Kano; Imo State University; Nasarawa State University; Abia State University; Kano State University of Technology; Kebbi State University; and Sokoto State University among others.
The University’s ASUU chairman, Dr Tarnongu Kwaghfan, insisted that the university would not resume class until the national secretariat of the union gives the directive.
He said, “Benue State University is on strike, it is not a sympathy strike because the university is a member of National Executive Council of ASUU and member of National Delegate Conference of ASUU. So we are part of the decision-making process of the union. Those saying we are on sympathy strike are saying that out of ignorance.”
Also the University’s ASUU chairman, Prof Simon Ehiabhi, said, “ In ASUU, there is no federal or state ASUU. ASUU is just a single entity with chapters. What you have are branches of ASUU, and state universities that have subscribed to ASUU are branches of ASUU. Just as you have one Nigeria Union of Teachers. You don’t have federal or state NUT. Just as you have one Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board that conducts UTME, you don’t have federal or state JAMB. Just as you have one NECO, one WAEC, that’s how ASUU is.
“So if anybody is calling for state universities to pull out of the strike or not to join the strike, the person is speaking out of ignorance or out of not really understanding how the union operates. So no branch of the union can pull out of the strike, decided by all the branches at the congress.”
The ASUU chairman of Tai Solarin University of Education, Dr Rufai Kazeem also said, “For now, my university, TASUED, we are on strike and will not opt out of the strike until all our demands are met”.
While the ASUU branch of the Kano University of Science and Technology, Wudil, in a statement jointly signed by the Chairman, Muhammad Gaya and Secretary, Murtala Muhammad, and made available to newsmen on Wednesday.
“The union noted that the body language and antics of the government are indications that the government was out to completely destroy education in the country, especially tertiary education.”
