ASUU donates sanitisers to Akwa Ibom gov’t

Academic Staff Union of Universities, ASUU, University of Uyo branch, has presented sensitisation materials to the Akwa Ibom State government for onward distribution to the citizens so as to stop further spread of the Coronavirus.

Presenting the materials to the state Commissioner for Health, Dr Dominic Ukpong, in Uyo yesterday, the branch chairperson, Dr Happiness Uduk said the gesture was in response to the directive from the national President of body.

According to Uduk, with the translation of the sensitisation materials into local dialect of Ibibio, Annang, Oro, Ekid and others, the citizens would readily understand, adhered to and adopt to government directives on the lockdown order.

Apart from the printed materials, the body also presented 300 liters of hand sanitiser, more than 100 pieces of nose mask, noting that, ASUU as responsible organisation was doing that despite not getting their salaries for months now. She said the materials had already been distributed to some local government councils in the state.

“Although federal government has not paid us for some months now, we still have to show concern about the plight of our citizens that is why we decided to bring in these items. Our national body has asked us as branches all over the federation to try to assist the government of the states where our universities are situated in one way or the other in these tough times.

“ASUU is a very sensitive organisation; we had to identify with the plight of the masses. So despite all we are passing though, we thought we should support the effort of government in fighting the pandemic. What we did is try to translate the materials into our local dialect and Pidgin English so that people at the grassroot can really understand what is happening world over as it affects us in Nigeria and by extension Akwa Ibom State,” she said.

In his own address, chairperson, Calabar Zone of ASUU, Dr Aniekan Brown noted that the body was happy to identify with the strides Akwa Ibom State government had already recorded in the control of the spread COVID-19 in the state.

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Brown, however, observed that the outbreak of the pandemic had gone a long way to exposing the poor health facilities in the country, which was publicly attested to by the Secretary to the Government of the Federation recently.

He explained that the action of the body was in demonstration of the third leg of its tripod which has to with community service, outside teaching and research, hoping that, the kid gesture would help stem the spread of the pandemic.

The health commissioner thanked the national president of ASUU, Prof. Biodun Ogunyemi, for supporting the state government, saying that the state had not received any support from the federal government in the tackling the pandemic.

The state, he said, had however put necessary facilities in place so as to curb the spread of the disease in the state, expressing the hope that, when the chips are down the state would cause to smile.

Source: Nigerianpilot.com