THE Federal Government and the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) on Friday hardened their positions on the five-month-old strike with both sides talking tough.It was also gathered on Friday that the Federal Government was considering drafting soldiers to enforce the reopening order if the situation warrants it next week. A defence source however told Saturday Tribune that “the situation, for now, has not got to that,” but did not rule out that possibility.
The Supervising Minister of Education, Mr. Nyesom Wike was locked in a closed-door meeting with all the vice-chancellors of federal universities in Abuja on Friday.
The meeting, according to sources, was to brief the vice-chancellors on the efforts of the Federal Government towards resolution of the standoff with ASUU and the strategy to be adopted in enforcing the reopening order.
Wike was said to have instructed the vice chancellors at the meeting not to let the government down on the directive to reopen the universities that have been shut for the last five months.
Riding on the crest of an earlier directive by the pro-chancellors of the Federal universities for the vice chancellors to reopen the universities to students for a full commencement of academic activities, the Federal Government asked the vice-chancellors to ensure that the universities are immediately reopened for academic and allied activities.
Wike, while addressing newsmen in Abuja, said government had to take the hard stance after a review of the entire situation and that it came to the conclusion that the continuation of the strike was an attempt by ASUU to sabotage all efforts to address the problem.
He stressed that any academic staff who failed to resume on or before December 4, automatically ceased to be a staff of the institution and vice-chancellors have been directed to advertise such positions internally and externally in their institutions.
It was gathered that the minister, at the meeting with the VCs, urged them to ensure that all necessary arrangements were made for a hitch-free resumption of students to campuses.
Part of the discussion also centred on the release of the Academic Earned Allowances to lecturers who go back to work.
The vice-chancellors were also told to ensure that record of attendance is kept for lecturers who actually resumed duties and advertisements for recruitment are placed in national dailies to replace those who refused to go back to classes as directed.
Meanwhile, ASUU has said that the Federal Government must apologise to university lecturers nationwide over an alleged lie told by the minister.
Wike had alleged that the union made a fresh demand, culminating in an ultimatum by the government to resume classes or be sacked.
The UNILAG chapter of the union, which made this known, also disclosed that it had queried its members who backed government on the ultimatum and the sanction threat.
The union, speaking through its chairman, Dr Karo Ogbinaka, vowed to continue with the strike until all demands are met.
“If there is any fresh demand ASUU is going to make, now, it is that the minister should apologise to lecturers. What our meeting with the presidency
achieved was that instead of N400 billion, the Federal Government said they are going to issue out N200 billion, non victimisation clause was part of our 2009 agreement, we are saying they should reflect it, that is not a fresh demand; we also demanded that the Attorney General of the Federation, signs the document as well as the NLC chairman because they were witnesses to the event that took place.
“It was the Federal Government itself that claimed that a permanent secretary was not eligible enough to sign an MoU as claimed by Anyim, which is why ASUU is insisting that the AGF signs as well as NLC.
“Meanwhile, the Federal Government is asking those people not to sign, which is an indication that as usual, they do not want to go through with their promises,” the unilag asuu chairman said.
He concluded that ASUU would not relent on the strike until government directed the AGF and NLC chairman to sign the said document.
The factional leader, Dr. Michael Ogbeide, however denied being queried, while calling the bluff of the union on his rumoured imminent suspension.
Also, factional Chairman of University of Abuja chapter of the union, Dr. Clement Chup, has said ASUU would not be intimidated or submit to threats to call off the strike.
Reacting to a question on the fact that the management of UNIABUJA has already given a directive for staff and students to resume academic activities on Monday, Chup said, “The school can go ahead and ask students to resume, but we won’t do any work; we won’t teach them. It is not our responsibility to resume, until ASUU decides.
“We are not afraid of that (sack). He (Education Minister) can go to the motor park to recruit lecturers that will lecture the students. You can now see the insincerity of some people in government.
“We told the government when we met that we are ready to suspend the strike once we are able to clarify some issues in our agreements with them. But they went ahead without clarifying those issues at stake. We dare them to sack us,” Dr. Chup said.
Meanwhile, Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) declared on Friday that the Federal Government was too hasty in taking the decision that the striking members of ASUU should resume by Monday, or be sacked.
Reacting to the order, the NLC General Secretary, Comrade Chris Uyot, said it believed strongly that the Supervising Minister of Education, Mr. Wike, was too hasty in making that pronouncement, even as ASUU was getting ready to resolve the crisis, but hampered by unexpected occurrence.
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