•••FED VARSITY OF AGRIC, MAKURDI, ASUU PROTESTS ALLEGED GOVT UNSERIOUSNESS, LAWLESSNESS
Attah Ede Makurdi
The lingering instability in the academic calendar is far from over as the Academic Staff Union has decided to hold a crucial meeting of its National Executive Council on issues affecting lecturers welfare on December 2, 2022
The NEC meeting is called to to review and take a decision on the issue of half salaries to lecturers and the no work, no pay policy of the Federal Government.
The Branch Chairman of the ASUU at the the Federal University of Agriculture, Makurdi Prof Simon Ejemi made the revelation during a peaceful protest at the institution in Makurdi on Tuesday.
Prof. Ejembi hinted that ASUU in all its 13 zones are embarking on the protest simultaneously and will meet at NEC level on December 2nd, 2022 to decide on the next line of action should the perforated salary continued.
Members of the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) at the Federal University of Agriculture, Makurdi (FUAM), on Tuesday, staged a peaceful protest to draw the attention of the general public to their plights over alleged shabby treatment by the Federal Government.
The Federal Government had on October,2022 paid half salary to the protesting lecturers after calling off the last eight months Strike saying they only worked for 18 days and should be paid as such, based on the Federal Government no-work-no-pay policy .
However, the lecturers considered this action as unlawful and an injustice melted on them and decided to embark on a peaceful protest.
The FUAM ASUU members who converged on the south core of the institution and marched through the campus, said the peaceful protest was intended to express their greiviences to the Federal Government over the half-salary they were receiving and the failure to pay them for eight months and implement the necessary arrangements.
The lecturers were seen carrying placards which read “ASUU FUAM says no more memorandum, sign and implement agreement, “IPPIS is the grandfather of corruption”, “UTAS represents integrity!, Deploy UTAS Now”, ” we are not causal workers”, ” University Teachers deserves their salary”, ” 2009 Agreement is not Okija agreement. It must be kept, among others.
Addressing members of the union before embarking on the protest, the chairman of FUAM ASUU, Prof. Ejembi stated that the protest was held to let everyone know what Federal Government is doing to ASUU in general and ASUU FUAM , in particular.
He said that the union will continue to use strike action as a last option to draw the attention of government and other critical stakeholders to their plights.
“We picked Wednesday as a no-lecture day but yet we decided that students should go to class and receive lectures just to prove to government that we can cover whatever gaps they thought we have left behind and the policy of no work no pay should be changed.
“We did not go on strike because we wanted to go on strike but because government failed to do its own part, so we can’t be punished for that. We suspended the eight months Strike on the 8th of Sept, due to court ruling even when we appealed the judgement, FG insisted that we go back to work.
“For the records, each time we go back to work, FG don’t talk to us again. Now, we have gone back, they stopped our salary since April and they are paying us on work per day. Infact, the present government is lawless and not serious. They want students off campus because they are not interested in students been in school since their children are schooling abroad.
“We have demonstrated that we are a law abiding union in a government that is totally lawless. We are here today to create awareness and inform Nigerians that FG has started again. That we are patriotic union and craving for education and Nigeria child deserve to be in school”, Ejembi stated.
