FG Stopping Our Salaries Won’t Make Us Call Off Strike – ASUU

The Academic Staff Union Of Universities (ASUU), has said the federal government stopping their salaries will not make the union suspend the ongoing strike.

ASUU through its chairman, University of Ibadan chapter, Prof Ayo Akinwole, said it wondered if there would be a country since the government was ignoring the root cause of the insecurity.

“The union is afraid if there will be a country in the nearest future since “it seems more money is being pumped into security for war entrepreneurs to become millionaires and billionaires without addressing the causes of insurgency and terrorism,” ASUU said.

Akinwole noted that a reasonable way to preserve the country would have been for the Buhari-led government to fund education by committing to an agreement with the Union to bring the almost three months’ old strike to an end.

“ASUU started the ongoing strike on February 14, 2022, to force the government to implement outstanding 2009 agreements on revitalisation funding, earned academic allowances, the proliferation of universities and sign a re-negotiated agreement with the Union,” he said.

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He also stated that the government needed to focus on factors causing insecurity and stop feigning ignorance of the ongoing strike as it was only children of the poor who bore the brunt of such actions.

According to the ASUU chairman, he said although the Federal Government has stopped the salaries of the striking lecturers, it will not make the union suspend the strike.

ASUU said it was now more energised to fight to have a country and a future for the children of the poor from the traders of collective patrimony in government.

“If those in government are smart, they should have seen evidence that pumping trillions of naira into fighting insecurity without getting results is a result of not doing the right thing. If you fund education, the minds of the educated youths will be built to resist being used for criminality but since the government has been irresponsive, funding war may have become another opportunity where some people are making millions.

“They don’t care about the increasing number of out-of-school children and they are not concerned about what facilities Nigerian children are exposed to. For ASUU, a smarter way of controlling growing insecurity and redirecting the minds of Nigerian youths to constructive and developmental activities is to build their human capacity and minds through purposeful funding of education by federal, State and local governments in Nigeria.”

Aside ASUU, other sister Unions within the university system have also downed their tools due to the irregularities associated with the Implementation of the Integrated Personnel Payroll and Information System, IPPIS.

READ ALSO: ASUU Strike: Renegotiation panel report ready – FG

CREDIT: ALLSCHOOL, Sahara Reporters