Nigerian Students Don’t Want Us To End This Strike ––ASUU

The Academic Staff Union of Universities, ASUU, has said it is continuing its nationwide strike on the advice of university students across the country.

“Our students have come out to say they don’t want us to call off the strike until the Federal Government answers us, because they don’t want us to call off now and later we go back to strike again. So, we are heeding the advice of our students.”

"There are issues and agreement they can implement without money. Why don’t they begin with those ones?"

In a telephone interview with PUNCH, the President of the union, Dr. Isa Fagge, said students were tired of the incessant industrial actions by university lecturers due to the Federal Government’s failure to implement the agreement it had with ASUU since 2009.

Consequently, Dr. Fagge said the union had decided to heed the advice of the students to continue the strike until the Federal Government fully implemented the agreement.

On the complaint by the Federal Government that it lacked the funds to implement the agreement, Fagge said it was not all about money, noting that government did not need funds to start implementing some parts of the agreement.

He added that it was unfortunate that the government had pulled out of dialogue with ASUU, stating that the union would not be intimidated. “Now, government has pulled out of the dialogue. We thought we were the ones going on strike, but now government has also gone on strike,” he said.

On Thursday, university students under the auspices of National Association of Nigerian Students reportedly staged a peaceful protest in Ado-Ekiti and flayed the Federal Government for failing to honour the agreement it had with ASUU since 2009.

The students, who were from public universities, threatened to disrupt activities of private universities, adding that government is not bothered about their plight because their children were studying either in some private universities or studying overseas.