…..Govt Negotiators Ignorant- Mark
The Senate on Wednesday waded into the prolonged strike by the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) .
It nonetheless appealed to the lecturers who have been on strike for the past four months to suspend the strike and return to work to prevent further devaluation of the country’s educational fortunes.
The Senate President, David Mark, the made the call, declared that negotiators on the side of government on the contentious 2009 agreement are ignorant.
However, the Senate mandated the Senate President to engage the president and the leadership of ASUU to bring the strike to an end
The resolution were sequel to a motion sponsored by Senator Victor Ndoma-Egba and 106 others titled, Appeal to Academic Staff Union of Universities to call of their strike action and return to work
The Senate also mandated its Committee on Education to continue to liaise with the Federal Ministry of Education, the National Universities Commission ( NUC), ASUU and all other relevant stakeholders to proffer lasting solutions to stem further strikes in the country
In the contentious 2009 agreement, ASUU was said to have demanded for N1.5trillion within a spate of three years from the Federal Government for funding of universities outside the normal yearly budgetary allocation.
Aside the N1.5trillion funds for universities from 2009-2011, ASUU was said to have also demanded for allowances outside its conventional monthly emoluments which encompass allowances like injury, excess work load etc.
Mark said when he saw the document, he was wondering if it was an agreement or a proposal, noting that the people who signed the document on behalf of the government were ignorant and ASUU took advantage of the ignorance of the negotiators.
Senator Mark described statements credited to the Minister of State for Education, Nyesom Wike, that the strike will be resolved in a few months as insensitive, adding that the problems should have been tackled yesterday and people should desist from making inflammatory statement.
He also added that government should not be reneging on agreements and the national development of the country should be hinged on education not oil.
“My appeal on behalf of the Senate is that both ASUU and the Federal Government should be ready to shift ground and not just standing on their current positions over the matter which would not do anybody any good and even anyone of them any good.
“I want to beg ASUU in particular on behalf of the Senate to, in line with our resolution here today, suspend its four months old strike in the interest of the students and in fact our dear country whose education sector is at the verge of collapse as a result of this strike and other associated problems.
“For those who negotiated on behalf of the Federal Government with ASUU in October 2009, the facts made available to us today by the Chairman of the Senate Committee on Education, Uche Chukwumerije, showed that they are people who do not know their right from their left and in the process, put the Federal Government into problem it is facing today because when the entire agreements were read out, I thought they are mere proposals only for Chukwumerije to confirm that they signed the largely un-implementable agreements characterised by payment for all manner of allowances,” Mark said.
Contributing to the debate, Senator Olusola Adeyeye( Osun APC), who is a professor, chided ASUU, saying most of the demands by ASUU are not applicable in any part of the world, adding that you can tell the future of a nation by the state of the schools . He said the states of schools in the country is pathetic.
“Where else in the world do you pay for examination allowance? Is that not the job of the lecturers? You pay for post graduate project supervision ; is that not the job of the professors?, ” he asked
Senator Abdul Ningi said: “There was an agreement and it was signed by both parties in 2009. We must accept agreement even if it has gaps, its a moral duty to know once an agreement is reached and signature is appended, the agreement becomes binding.”
Senator Bello Tukur ( Adamawa PDP) in his remarks said the money ASUU is requesting for is not too much considering the amount of money spent on Subsidy Reinvestment Programme (SURE-P) and fuel subsidy and these programmes can be suspended to attend to the needs of ASUU.
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