The Presidential candidate of the Labour Party (LP) in Nigeria’s 2023 general elections, Peter Obi, has described the prolonged strike by the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) as “unconscionable, worrisome and unacceptable.
He said that the strike has lingered for far too long and that the Nigerian government must immediately engage in “collaborative negotiations” with the aggrieved lecturers of public universities.
Mr Obi, a former governor of Anambra State, South-east Nigeria, spoke in a tweet on his verified Twitter handle on Wednesday.
He lamented the consequences of the protracted industrial action which is now in its seventh month, and already tagged indefinite by the striking lecturers’ union.
He said; “Our position is that the ASUU strike has lingered for far too long. It is unconscionable, worrisome and unacceptable that FGN (Federal Government of Nigeria) would allow such an industrial action to become almost intractable to the detriment of our students.
“It’s time for FGN to engage in collaborative negotiations with ASUU, and in good faith.”
Hails governors’ proposed intervention
In another tweet also on Wednesday, Mr Obi applauded the decision by the state governors to quickly intervene in the matter and ensure the return of the lecturers to the classrooms.
“It’s gratifying that our governors have undertaken to mediate on the lingering ASUU strike. This is propitious and a remarkable show of leadership. Hopefully, such direct constructive engagement will bring this strike to an end soonest,” Mr Obi tweeted.
ASUU Strike
On Monday, the President of ASUU, Emmanuel Osodeke, disclosed that the National Executive Council of the union in Abuja resolved to transmute the roll-over strike to a comprehensive, total and indefinite one beginning from Monday.
Mr Osodeke said the union has endured a “lot of deceit of the highest level in the last five and half years as the Federal Government of Nigeria engaged ASUU in fruitless and unending negotiation without a display of utmost fidelity”.
ASUU embarked on strike on 14 February over a number of issues including the non-payment of revitalisation fund and earned academic allowances as well as the non-adoption of the University Transparency and Accountability Solution, (UTAS) over the Integrated Payroll and Personnel Information System, (IPPIS).
The Nigerian government has summoned a meeting with vice chancellors and pro-chancellors for 6 September at the headquarters of the National Universities Commission (NUC) in Abuja to resolve the crisis.
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