ASUU

TREAT EDUCATION AS PRIORITY, DON’T BE LIKE BUHARI, ASUU TELLS TINUBU

Published

2 years ago

March 7, 2023

The Academic Staff Union of Universities has urged the President-elect, Bola Tinubu, to treat academics in the country with “utmost respect.”

The academic union also advised the former Lagos State governor to ensure that university education becomes a priority.

Speaking with our correspondent, the Chairman of ASUU, Federal University of Technology, Minna, Niger State, who is also a member of the National Executive Council of ASUU, Prof Gbolahan Bolarin, urged the incoming government not to emulate the regime of the President, Major General Muhammadu Buhari (retd.).

He said, “The first thing that one would expect from the next President is that university education must be a priority. No one should treat university education system with disdain that would make our students to stay at home for eight months because of governance failure.

“He cannot afford to treat academics like they are not humans the way the President is treating us.”

THE INFORMANT reports that public universities suffered from disruptions of academic calendar under the Buhari regime.

In 2020, universities were shut for close to eight months.

Similarly, there was an eight-month disruption of academic activities in universities in 2022.

Lecturers have been demanding improved welfare, end to proliferation of universities, increased funding among others.

Tinubu has severally promised that under his watch education would be given priority.

He pledged that there would no longer be strikes in the university, saying “a four-year court will be completed in four years.

Meanwhile, the outgoing Rector of the Federal Polytechnic, Ile Oluji, Ondo State, Prof. Emmanuel Fasakin, has urged the government not to allow polytechnic education die from neglect.

The rector made the appeal in Akure on Monday, at the launch of his memoir to mark the end of his two-term tenure as pioneer rector of the polytechnic.

The book was titled: “Beyond the ordinary: the journey of my life and experience at the Federal Polytechnic, Ile-Oluji.”

He said, “Polytechnic education is needed to provide manpower for our industries. Nigeria should not rely on manpower from outside the country for its industries to survive

“Nigerian government should provide a conducive and enabling environment for Nigerian citizens to work and thrive in their respective academic endeavours.”

Fasakin said he had laid a good foundation in the institution in the area of infrastructures, human capital development through teamwork and had provided transformational leadership.

ASUU

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

Published

1 year 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.

The post NLC, TUC, ASUU, Others Defy Court Order As They Begin Strike appeared first on Jomog.