Current ASUU Strike Is Disturbing – House Of Reps

The House of Representatives has come out to call on the Federal Government to implement the agreement it reached with the Academic Staff Union of Universities.

The House of Representatives recently had its say via a press statement, and Nigerians have been reacting.

According to them, failure to implement these agreements has led to the ongoing strike by the university lecturers, and it can only be reversed if the needful is done.

The Reps added that they are disturbed by the current strike and they hope a solution would be provided very soon.

It read, “The individual and corporate pains the strike action inflicted on Nigerian students, parents and the education sector, to the extent that it disrupted the academic calendar and impacted negatively on the teaching staff, their families and the depreciating standards of Nigeria’s public universities.”

“The benefits and advantages of the demands of ASUU on the overall interests of Nigeria’s public institutions and the well-being of the personnel, which includes funding for the revitalisation of public universities and signing and implementation of the renegotiated 2009 FGN- ASUU Agreement, amongst others.”

“The House is disturbed that shortly after the last horrendous experience by Nigerians, a one-month warning strike action by members of ASUU has commenced with effect from February 14, 2022, despite all previous efforts to resolve the contending issues. Such efforts include that of the Speaker, House of Representatives (Femi Gbajabiamila) and other stakeholders, which included members of the Nigeria Inter-Religious Council.”

“The House is further disturbed that the consequences of the strike action are embarrassingly becoming too frequent and with consequences too damning to the education sector, as one-month strike action is too much a disruption to an academic calendar and too much time for an ‘idle man’ to cause havoc, especially in the present university environment which is infested with cult activities and other social vices.”

“The House is concerned that in the present circumstances, claims and counterclaims by both ASUU members and the government representatives are not helping the situation, because the picture created is not clear and both Nigerians and foreigners are left to interpret it differently, regrettably tilting towards perceived/or deliberate intention to frustrate the genuine spirit of reconciliation and tertiary education in Nigeria widely seen as education for the ordinary Nigerian.”

“The House is worried that major parts of the grounds of dispute border on issues like the injection of revitalisation funds, payment of earned academic allowance and the likes that are obtainable in other African countries like Ghana and South Africa.”