ASUU Strike: Accede to demands – CPC, CNPP urge

ASUU President, Prof Ukachukwu Awuzie

The Congress for Political Change and the Conference of Nigeria Political Parties have urged the government to accede to the demands of the member of the Academic Staff Union of Universities to adequately fund universities and 70-year retirement limit for its members.

They said there would have been no need for the ongoing strike by the university lecturers if the government had learnt to honour its own agreement with the lecturers.

In a different statement issued in Abuja on Sunday, both the CPC and the CNPP said it would be wrong to blame the lecturers for the ongoing strike.

The CPC said in a statement by its National Publicity Secretary, Mr. Rotimi Fashakin, that it was unfortunate that government had refused to learn from several strikes in the universities in the past.

"Like a recurring decimal, the latest strike is coming on the heels of government’s blatant refusal to honour the agreement freely entered into in 2009 with the university dons."

The party said it was wrong for the government to renege on agreement it entered with the lecturers since the demands were meant for the improvement of infrastructure in the universities.

It frowned on the desire of the government to establish nine new federal universities when it had yet to fund those that were established in the past.

The party said, "Does it not show egregious dishonesty that the same regime perfected 2011 electioneering gimmickry to set up additional nine universities when the agreement to improve on the existing ones was not meant to be implemented?"

Meanwhile, the Federal Government has suspended the retirement of their members until further notice to prevent non-academic staff of universities from joining the ongoing ASUU strike.

The National Association of Academic Technologists, the Non-Academic Staff Union of Education and Associated Institutions and the Senior Staff Association of Nigerian Universities, under the Joint Action Committee of NAAT, NASU and SSANU, had threatened to go on strike to also push for the implementation of the 2009 agreement the Federal Government signed with them.

National President of the SSANU, Mr. Samson Ugwoke, told reporters, in Abuja, on Sunday that government had confirmed that it had directed Vice-Chancellors to suspend the retrenchment of non-academic staff who had attained 60 years pending the passage of a new bill raising it to 65years.

Some of the contentious issues in the 2009 agreement with non-academic staff are: the 65 years retirement age, as well as improved funding for universities, earned allowance, and career structure for Technologists on CONTISS 14 and 15.

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