ASUU: State Universities pull out due to threats from workers – stakeholders
Some stakeholders have continued to react to the pulling out of some state universities from the ongoing indefinite strike by ASUU, saying they pulled out due to threats from their employers.
They made this known in separate interviews with the News Agency of Nigeria in Abuja on Tuesday.
It would be recalled that some state universities such as the Kaduna State University, (KASU), Ekiti State University (EKSU) and the Nasarawa State University, Keffi have pulled out of the ongoing indefinite strike actions by ASUU
While other state universities refused to join the nationwide strike, they include Osun, Rivers, Delta, Borno, Anambra, Kwara, Akwa Ibom states and the three universities owned by Lagos State.
Dr.Oluremi oni, a lecturer in the University of Maiduguri (UNIMAID) said that the pulling out by state universities from the strike would not in any way affect the structure of the union.
Oni, who blamed ASUU for bringing state universities into the issues affecting federal universities, said their pulling out was actually proper.
According to her, no matter how many state universities that pulled out of the struggle, this will not affect our collective desire to protect the country’s educational system.
“Government has shown that they don’t like ASUU; when a similar thing happened last year, ASUU gave the government the presentation and they picked the one they could honour and threw it back at ASUU and ASUU was okay with them at that time.
So it was because of government’s inability to implement the agreement last year that made ASUU to go back to strike.
“Government did not implement what it promised us and now they are expanding the problem and the public does not even know what the problem is and everybody is blaming ASUU,” she said.
Oni expressed concern over the action of government’s intention to extend the meeting with the union till June 2023, saying that this showed lack of commitment to education
On the ‘no work, no pay’ stands by the government on ASUU, she blamed the government on this approach, saying that the union took the decision on behalf of the generality of Nigerian children to have quality education not minding the fact that their children were also affected.
“The government has forgotten that ASUU members also have children in these universities and so members are also losing.
’’The Secretary, Workers and Youths Solidarity Network (WYSN), Mr Damilola Owot called on the leadership of ASUU to re-emphasise the benefits of the strike to state workers with a view to giving them reasons to maintain the tempo and not to relax.
According to him, ASUU should pay special attention to specific needs of the state universities too and incorporate them into their future demands.
“We extend our solidarity to the members of the ASUU who are currently on strike
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