Kogiflame
The Federal Government has revealed that some items of the agreement signed with the leadership of the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) are unrealistic and not implementable.
This came as the Minister of Education, Malam Adamu Adamu apologised to Nigerian students over the strike action by ASUU and the misunderstanding that led to the abrupt end of the meeting with the leadership of the National Association of Nigerian Students (NANS) at the Federal Ministry of Education on Monday.
The Minister was said to have stormed out of the meeting but following the intervention of the Executive Secretary of National Universities Commission (NUC), Professor Abubakar Rasheed and the Registrar of the Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB), Prof. Is-haq Oloyede, a new meeting was reconvened at the Conference Hall of the NUC on Monday night where the Minister of Education was also present.
Tribune Online gathered that the Minister of Education, speaking at the reconvened meeting, told the students that some aspects of the 2009 agreement reached with ASUU were not implementable.
He said this has been communicated to ASUU, adding that this necessitated the constitution of the renegotiation committee to review the agreement.
National President of NANS, Comrade Sunday Asefon, confirmed the development in a statement made available to newsmen on Tuesday in Abuja.
The statement read in part: “Recall that NANS held her Non-Elective National Congress where we concluded to protest the incessant and lingering strike and call on Federal Government to do everything humanly possible to pacify ASUU and ensure the strike is immediately called off.
“Nigerian students across the country and the zones of NANS acted in unison yesterday 28th February 2022 to demand an immediate end to the ASUU strike and call on the FG to take responsibility. From North East to South West, From South-South to North West, From North Central to South East, the students spoke clearly. While I led the action in Abuja in the company of the Senate President, National Executive members, stakeholders and the FCT structure, our Zonal Leadership, and JCC Chairmen replicated the same in their different States. We spoke loudly and clearly.
“We spoke in the language that our adversaries understand. Let me commend students across the country for this show of solidarity, you decided in the congress and as your leader, I gave action to your voices and you supported me through it all, came out in your numbers, and we spoke in one audible voice.
“Our first meeting with the Minister of Education yesterday was tense, ended abruptly, because of our very radical stance which was necessitated by the untold hardship we have suffered from these incessant strikes and lack of adequate commitment to the development of the tertiary education system in the country.
“While the Minister of Education stormed out of the meeting, we barricaded the Ministry, but the Minister managed to escape the waiting anger of the marmot crowd of students.
“However, with the intervention of the DSS, The Nigeria Police Force, the special appeal from the Executive Secretary of NUC, the JAMB registrar, and the unreserved apology of the Minister of Education, a new meeting was reconvened at the Conference Hall of the NUC where the Minister of Education was also present. We presented our 3 points demand as follows:
“Urgent action by the Federal Government to end the incessant ASUU strike permanently.
“We requested the state of implementation of the FG/ASUU agreement of 2009 be made public.
“The inclusion of students representative in every negotiation between FG and ASUU as the issues are triangular and students must be duly represented for the balance of interests.
“The Minister apologized to NANS and the entire student populace for the prior misunderstanding sympathized with Nigerian students for the avoidable situation and the strike.
“The Minister restated the shock of the Federal Government over the decision of ASUU to go on strike as there is an ongoing negotiation between ASUU and the Federal Government.
“The Minister agreed with the demand of NANS for students to be represented in the negotiation for balancing of interests while also pledging to do everything possible to ensure the strike is called off on or before the expiration of the one-month warning strike which is now in its third week.
“The Minister explained that some of the items in the 2009 agreement with ASUU are not realistic and unimplementable and ASUU has been duly informed, hence the constitution of the renegotiation committee to review the agreement and do everything possible to reach a new agreement acceptable to parties.
“The implementable document which has been drafted and submitted to the government will be signed by Federal Government and ASUU to put a permanent end to ASUU Strike.
“While we await the resolution of the meeting between the FG and ASUU today, we have informed the Minister that we shall react louder and bigger across the 36 States and the FCT should the government fail to find a permanent solution to issues of ASUU strike.
“Let me again thank Nigerian students for standing tall, united, motivated, and in solidarity as we fight this to a reasonable conclusion. We thank security agencies and members of the 4th and 5th estate of the realm for their cooperation.
“I, therefore, call on the students to be prepared for a complete showdown if FG and ASUU fail to resolve their impasse and call off the strike on or before the end of the one-month warning strike which is now in its third week,” he said.
Tribuneonline
