ASUU

ASUU STRIKE: NGIGE STORMS OUT OF SPEAKER-LED ASUU/FG TRUCE MEETING (VIDEO)

Published

1 year ago

October 2, 2022

The Minister of Labour and Employment, Dr Chris Ngige angrily left the meeting spearheaded by the Speaker of House of Representatives, Rt Hon Femi Gbajabiamila to end the crisis between the Academic Staff Union of Universities and the Federal Government.

In the meeting that was held on Wednesday in Abuja, all the stakeholders from both parties were in attendance to resolve the issue.

The meeting, however, seemed to have been another deadlock when Ngige walked out after accusing ASUU President, Professor Emmanuel Osodeke of calling the populace to vote out the All Progressives Congress (APC) in the 2023 general elections.

ASUU President, Professor Emmanuel Osodeke (m) and other executives of the union

Gbajabiamila called on the aggrieved parties to sheathe their swords and shift ground in the interest of the country and that of the students who have been away from their studies for seven months.

When Osodeke talked, he lamented that the salaries of the lecturers are paid from the office of the Accountant-General of the Federation, which is not the order of the day in other countries.

Osodeke said, “Is there any country in the world where salaries of lectures are paid from the office of Accountant-General of the Federation? Where is the idea of the law? Let’s be patriotic to Nigeria. Are they using it in Central Bank (of Nigeria)? Are they using it in NITDA?

“So let’s respect the peculiarity rather than trying to put all of us into a small hole. And finally, sir! No country in the world will harvest the data of the academics, package (it) and give (it) to a foreign company. No country in the world! Thank you.”

At the turn of the Labour Minister to talk, he said, “Mr Speaker, sir! It is serious that ASUU President said that APC government kept children at home and that Nigerian people should vote them out.”

When someone said, “He didn’t say that.” Ngige stood up and headed for the exit, asking angrily “What did he say? What did he say?”

He did not storm out without tapping ASUU President on his shoulder, but the don responded, “Go and tell a lie to the public.”

Other government functionaries who spoke at the meeting were the Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF), Boss Mustapha, the Accountant-General of the Federation, Okoliaboh Sylva, the Director-General of the Budget Office, Ben Akabueze and the Director of IT Infrastructure, the National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA), Abdullahi Usman among others.

ASUU

NLC, TUC, ASUU, Others Defy Court Order As They Begin Strike

Published

3 weeks ago

November 14, 2023

Pamilerin Fedpolygist

The NLC had on Monday announced the commencement of the industrial action from midnight of Monday, 13 November, in defiance to a restraining order issued by the National Industrial Court in Abuja on Friday.

The Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC), the Trade Union Congress (TUC) and its affiliates including the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU), on Tuesday, began a nationwide strike, in defiance to a restraining court order barring them from embarking on the industrial action.

The two major labour unions, NLC and TUC, had declared the strike, following the brutalisation of the NLC president, Joe Ajaero, in Imo State on 1 November. Mr Ajaero was attacked in Owerri, the state capital, during an NLC protest against the Imo State government over alleged maltreatment of workers in the state.

The unions on Monday directed their members to down tools across the country as from Tuesday.

This is despite the restraining order issued by the National Industrial Court, in Abuja, on Friday, stopping the labour unions from embarking on the strike. The judge, Benedict Kanyip, ordered the two major labour unions to stop their industrial action scheduled to commence 14 November.

The interim order followed an ex-parte request by the Nigerian government through the office of Attorney General of the Federation (AGF) and Minister of Justice, due to the Labour unions’ threat to embark on strike.

Ignoring the court order, ASUU President, Emmanuel Osodeke, a professor of soil science, on Monday, directed compliance with the strike declaration in a letter to ASUU zonal coordinators and branch chairpersons across the country.

“As an affiliate of NLC, all members of our union are hereby directed to join this action of NLC to protect the interest of Nigerian workers and the leadership of the union. Zonal coordinators and branch chairpersons should immediately mobilise our members to participate in the action,” ASUU President, Mr Osodeke, wrote in a letter to zonal and branch chairpersons of the union.

When PREMIUM TIMES asked Mr Osodeke if he was aware of the subsisting court order stopping the strike, he said the question should be directed to the NLC which called for the strike.

“Call the NLC, ASUU did not declare a strike, NLC declared the strike. Call NLC,” he said in a telephone interview on Tuesday morning.

But the NLC’s head of information, Benson Upah, did not respond to phone calls and messages sent to his line requesting for comments, as of the time of filing this report.

The labour unions had, on Monday, refused to acknowledge the court order while directing their members to withdraw their services as from Tuesday.

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