Saturday, 24 August 2013

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ASUU STRIKE UPDATE: National Assembly, FG Urge ASUU To Call Off Strike

The leadership of the National Assembly, NASS, and the Federal
Government, yesterday, appealed to the Academic Staff Union of
Universities, ASUU, to call off the lingering strike.
The NASS and FG made the plea after a meeting with Pro-
Chancellors and Vice-Chancellors of public universities in Abuja. The
FG, according to them, has made offers and commitment to
necessitate the resumption of academic activities in the nation’s
public universities.
Senate Chairman on Education, Senator Uche Chukwumerije, said,
“The Senate Committee has always sought the required fund for our
nation’s universities.
“We plead with ASUU for immediate end of the strike. We want to
plead with lecturers to be more sensitive to their scale of priorities
especially in the area of education and timely implementations of
agreements. The present ASUU strike must end. It is time for the
nation to take the bull by the horn”.
Aslo speaking, Chairman House Committee on Education, Honourable
Aminu Suleiman said, “I want to commend all those who have fought
for the proper funding of our universities in the country. The Federal
Government have also taken position to identify the needs of all our
Federal Polytechnics and Colleges of Education to stop this problem
once and for all.
“It is gratifying to know that government has shifted grounds and it is
also in our position to passionately appeal to the aggrieved members
of ASUU in the interest of the system to also make concession so that
students can resume school”.
“We always agree to disagree we can always disagree without
disrupting the system. We must appreciate that by prolonging this
strike we are doing more harm to the system and causing more
problems for the country in general.
“What government has done is quite in line with the legislative
agenda which we set out for ourselves as members of House of
Representatives. No sacrifice is too much in ensuring the
development of the sector,” Suleiman said.
On his part, Secretary to the Government of the Federation, SGF,
Senator Anyim Pius Anyim, said the FG has already demonstrated
sufficient commitment to the implementation of 2009 FG/ASUU
agreement.
According to him, President Goodluck Jonathan has set N100 billion
to develop infrastructure in 61 universities and N30 billion to support
the university councils in settling the earned allowances.
“Government is making every effort to revitalise the university
system, by this demonstration of clear commitment to revitalise the
university system, government hereby urges every staff of the
nation’s universities to return to work as all issues are being
resolved,” Anyim said.
He noted that most of the issues contained in the 2009 agreement,
which necessitated the current strike had been fully met except for
the earned allowances which ASUU pegged at N92 billion.
According to him: “On July 2, 2013, ASUU declared what it called,
“total and indefinite strike” over issues it says have remained
unresolved pertaining to an agreement it reached with government in
2009.
“It is pertinent to narrate the genesis of the 2009 agreement, ASUU
went on strike action in 2006 based on their request for a review of
personnel matters, on account of this, government initiated a Needs
assessment of the university system comprising federal and states
universities, the negotiations led to the 2009 agreement.
“Some of issues which bothered on amendment of pensionable
retirement age of academics in the professorial cadre, consolidated
peculiar allowances (CONPUAA), exclusively for university teaching
staff, National Health Insurance Scheme (NHIS), setting up of budget
monitoring committee in all public universities have been fully
implemented,” he added.
He further said that areas where government hands were tied like the
transfer of Federal Government landed property to universities have
been clearly explained why it would not be possible to implement
such aspects.
“Government has been clear that it cannot transfer government
landed property to ASUU because it has no structure to manage or
maintain such property.
“Government is however willing to support any council that sets up a
property company with management structure to compete with others
in the industry,” he stated.
The SGF therefore appealed to the university teachers to call of the
eight weeks old strike.

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