NANS plans protest to end ASUU strike

LAGOS—National Association of Nigerian Students, NANS, plans to hold a nation-wide protest as a last resort to force the Federal Government and the Academic Staff Union of Universities, ASUU, to end the protracted strike of university lecturers.
NANS’ President, Yinka Gbadebo, responding to allegations that the students’ body was not bothered by the 60-day-old strike, said the union had been employing other matured approaches to appeal to both the government and ASUU.
According to him, “NANS is not relaxed but we have decided to take approaches that don’t require us to make noise. We have been meeting with executive members of ASUU, the Nigerian Universities Commission, Minister of Education and the FG.
“We have also written to meet with the universities NEEDS Implementation Committee chairman and Governor of Benue State, Mr. Gabriel Suswan. If we don’t receive any response by the end of the week, we would issue an ultimatum and take it up from there.
“I have been consulting with all SUG leaders in the affected schools so that we would speak with one voice. Going to the streets would be our last option but we would do so to protest how long this strike has lingered.
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ASUU STRIKE: Business owners count losses, as group appeals to ASUU, FG

The current indefinite industrial action embarked by Academic Staff Union of Universities, ASUU, has started taking its toll on persons that carry out their legitimate businesses in and around university campuses in Imo State.
Vanguard investigations in Federal University of Technology, Owerri and Imo State University, Owerri, revealed that most proprietors of the businesses have either closed shop or downsized their workforce, following their sagging income.
As at the last count, hair dressing salons, computer operators, recharge card hawkers, stationery dealers, restaurant owners and others are counting their losses as a result of non-patronage from mainly students.
Meanwhile, the national leadership of ASUU and the Federal Government have been urged to consider the plight of Nigerian undergraduates and allow immediate resumption of studies in their various institutions.
Members of the University of Jos Alumni Association, UJAA, South East Zone, made the passionate appeal in a communique issued at the end of their quarterly meeting and signed by the Zonal Coordinator, Sir Ned Ulelu.
“We passionately appeal to the national leadership of ASUU and the Federal Government to come to terms and end the current industrial action that has truncated academic activities in the nation’s universities for several weeks”, UJAA pleaded.

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Youths give FG 7 days to resolve dispute with ASUU

The Federal government has been given a seven-day ultimatum to resolve the impasse with striking universities lecturers or face the wrath of Nigerian youth.
Besides, the failure to honour its agreement with Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) is seen as a ploy to completely destroy the nation’s education.
In an open letter to President Goodluck Jonathan titled “The ASUU strike and the need for urgent action to save our educational system”, a youth leader comrade Timi Frank stated that it is ironic that the wealth of the country is being frittered away through frivolous projects and pervasive corruption while education upon which a brighter future is built is being destroyed.
He reminded the President that if N2trillion was expended between 2010 and 2011, to bail out banks to save the nation’s financial sector even when it was obvious that some of the funds were embezzled, it will be worth the while if the government will apply the same emergency arrangements to put an end to the decay in the education system.
He lamented that a government that spent N2.3trillion instead of the budgeted and appropriated N280 billion in 2011 in the name of subsidy and introduced SURE- P as a way of absorbing the negative impact on the economy, should by all ramifications be able to afford the N90 billion for the universities lecturers without much stress.
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FG, ASUU meeting deadlocked …To meet again on Monday

THE hope for resolution of the over one month industrial action by the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU), on Tuesday, was dashed as the ongoing negotiation on payment of academic Earned Allowance was deadlocked.
However, Governor of Benue State and leader of the Federal Government’s negotiation team, Gabriel Suswam, told newsmen after a closed-door meeting with ASUU that the deliberation with the leadership of ASUU was fruitful and that the meeting had been shifted to Monday, next week.
He noted that with the progress made so far “it is hoped that conclusions would be reached next week for ASUU to call off the strike.”
The governor had stated earlier before the meeting that government was determined to resolve the problem “if possible today or shortest possible time.”
According to him, two new actors were introduced-the Finance Minister, Mrs Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala and Director, Budget Office, adding that the discussion was basically on academic earned allowance which had been more protracted.
Suswam, who is the Chairman of the Presidential Universities Needs Assessment Committee, expressed optimism that the issues would soon be resolved going by the progress made so far.
However, ASUU President, Comrade Nasir Isa Fagge, refused to speak with reporters, saying they should meet Governor Suswam, who is the government’s negotiator, for what agreements were reached in the closed door meeting.
Governor Suswam said: “Well,the meeting continues next week Monday. We made some progress, we had very fruitful discussion with ASUU and we have agreed to meet again on Monday at about three o’clock. When we meet again, we will be able to arrive at some conclusions.”
When he was reminded that he had made same promise last week, Suswam said: “No, I said between one and two weeks. There is nothing wrong; you know we introduced some new faces, the minister of finance; you agree with me she is attending the meeting for the first time and also the Director-General, Budget. Now that finance is coming, we are getting close to resolving it.
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FG, ASUU Agree On N100 Billion Deal for Varsities' Infrastructure

The committee set up by the federal government to implement the needs assessment report in Nigerian universities yesterday reached an agreement with representatives of the striking members of the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) on the vexed issue of decaying infrastructure in Nigerian universities following the adoption of a report by the committee's technical committee.
The committee, chaired by Benue State Governor, Dr Gabriel Suswam, which rose from a long meeting at the Benue Governor's Lodge Asokoro, Abuja, last night, announced to newsmen that the federal government had reached agreement with ASUU to deploy N100 billion for the provision of infrastructure on the campuses of 61 universities covered in the needs assessment report earlier carried out by a committee of the federal government.
Based on the agreement, therefore, the only matterin contention is the issue of the earned allowances which Suswam gave assurances that the matter, too, would be dealt with on Monday since the federal government had made substantial offers to the striking lecturers.
The technical committee, chaired by Dr Banfa, a nominee of ASUU, had proposed in its report that the N100 billion be shared among all the 61 federal and state universities in the country for intervention in the areas of the rehabilitation and construction of lecture halls, renovation and construction of libraries and laboratories, and rehabilitation and construction of hostels.
Banfa said the 61 universities were categorized into four based on the size of student enrolment, noting that the categories depended on the university with 30,000 students and above, 20,000 students and above, 15,000 students and above, and 10,000 students and above respectively.
Each of the universities would then be given its share of the fund to applyin the projects already identified in the needs assessment report for immediate implementation.
In adopting the report, Suswam said everything would be done to avoid bureaucracy in the award of contracts for the identified projects so that the campuses would immediately witness a new lease of life with the coming on stream of the new projects.
The governor disclosed that President Goodluck Jonathan had agreed to flag off the construction of infrastructural project sunder the N100billion stimulus package in a university to be selected,to symbolize the commencement of construction work in all the universities. He said the new projects to be undertaken would be standardized such that allthe Universities will enjoy similar facilities in terms of the new projects.
"I am confident that, very soon, the students will resume. As a leader in this country, I am worried about the strike. Mr President is absolutely worried and everybody is concerned that the students should not stay at home more than necessary," he stressed.
The implementation committee meeting was attended by the ministers of Education, Labour and Productivity, and other education funding agencies of the federal government, including the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC), Petroleum Technology Development Fund (PTDF), NITDA, Nigeria Communications Commission (NCC), and Tertiary Education Trust Fund (TETFund) among others as well as the president of ASUU.

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FG Opens Fresh Negotiations With ASUU

The Federal Government said on Tuesday that it was renegotiating the 2009 agreements it signed with the members of the Academic Staff Union of Universities, who are currently on strike.





The Minister of Labour and Productivity, Chief Emeka Wogu, stated this while answering questions from journalists after briefing members of the National Working Committee of the Peoples Democratic Party onthe activities of his ministry in Abuja.
The reason for the renegotiation, according to him, was to clear some grey areas in the agreements, which he said were put in place before the coming into office of the present government.
The nine-point agreements ASUU signed with the Federal government 2009 included funding requirements for revitalization of the Nigerian universities; Federal government assistance to state universities; establishment of NUPEMCO and progressive increase inannual budgetary allocation to education to 26 per cent between 2009 and 2020; and earned allowances.
The minister, who refused to say whether there was a particular area of the agreements that was not acceptable to the government, however pleaded with the university lecturers to return to the classroom.
Wogu said, “We are renegotiating the 2009 agreement which predate this administration. It therefore has to be renegotiated.
“However, while we are still talking, we are pleading with ASUU to go back to their work.”
Meanwhile, Niger State Governor, Babangida Aliyu, has said lecturers of states and private universities should not join federal universities staff to embark on strike.
Aliyu said this in Minna on Tuesday when he received in audience members of the Governing board of the Ibrahim Badamasi Babangida University, Lapai, in Government House.
The governor argued that in a federation, what obtainsat the Federal level should not necessarily affect states, especially if the demands of the aggrieved lecturers were not the same.
He said, “The union at the centre cannot ask people at the state to go on strike. State universities are like private universities; they cannot go on strike just because their colleagues at the federal universities are on strike.”
Aliyu said he discussed the first convocation of the university with the visitors and the ongoing strike by members of ASUU.
Also, ASUU has called on Executive Secretary of the National Universities commission, Prof. Julius Okojie, to publicly declare his assets.
In a joint statement by the chairmen of the University of Calabar branch of the union, Dr. James Okpiliya and his Cross River State University of Technology counterpart, Dr. Nsing Ogar,the ASUU officials accused the NUC boss of fueling the crisis in the university system.
They noted that instead of addressing the issues in dispute, Okojie rather resorted to campaign of calumny against the union

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