BREAKING: Strike continues – ASUU declares

The Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) has declared that its ongoing strike continues.

ASUU President, Professor Emmanuel Osodeke, made this known while addressing newsmen on Tuesday.

Osodeke accused the Ministry of Labour and Employment, chaired by Chris Ngige as “Conciliator” for continuously creating more chaos in the resolution process.

Osodeke said the union will never suspend strike but ensure it puts a permanent end to it.

“ASUU therefore makes bold to say that the Minister of Labour and Employment has taken upon himself the role of unabashed protagonist in our ongoing dispute with the government of Nigeria for some inexplicable reasons.

“Dr Ngige earlier told whoever cared to listen that he was not the employer of university academics and advised the union to march to the Ministry of Education. Nigerians may wish to know why he has suddenly turned around to constitute himself as an impediment to an amicable resolution of the ongoing crisis.”

“We appreciate the teeming Nigerians for identifying with our vision in this respect. We specifically acknowledge the support and sacrifices of our students (including our members who are running their postgraduate programmes) as well as their parents; they are our critical partners in this transformation project. We in ASUU shall do our utmost best not to let you down.

“ASUU appreciates your concerns and sympathetic support. We are as bothered as you are because we share a common interest in the Nigeria project. However, ASUU shall continue to be guided by the sacred canons of integrity, objectivity, and responsibility to which both academics and media practitioners subscribe.

ASUU had on February 14 embarked on a strike to press home its demand, including the government’s investment in the nation’s university infrastructure, and payment of members’ salaries through the recommended University Transparency and Accountability Solution (UTAS), among several others.