The Senate has appealed to the leadership of Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) to call off its ongoing indefinite strike in the interest of the students who will be the victims of the industrial action.
The Senate Committee on Tertiary Institutions and TETFUND, led by Senator Barau Jibrin at a press conference, Tuesday, admitted that ASUU has notified the Parliament of the commencement of the strike, but noted that the strike should not have been.
According to him, the action of ASUU was borne out of loss of confidence in the committee set up by the federal government to renegotiate the 2009 Agreement.
Having intervened and stop the warning strike called by ASUU earlier in the year, and also playing a prominent role in the negotiations between the Ministry of Education and ASUU earlier, the committee he said, expected that ASUU would have returned to the Senate to inform the parliament about the breakdown in negotiations.
“The Senate is concerned and expected ASUU to have reported back to us the difficulties it was experiencing in the renegotiation to enable us to intervene and assist the process.
“Embarking on this strike will clearly make things difficult for students, parents and Academic Staff Union of Universities.
“The Committee therefore calls on ASUU to reconsider it’s position, shelve the strike action and return to the renegotiation with the federal government.
“The Senate Committee on Tertiary Institutions shall henceforth monitor the negotiation between the Committee set up by the Federal Government and ASUU in order to ensure the desired result of an amicable settlement of the disagreement between the two parties is achieved.
ASUU announced the commencement of an indefinite strike on Sunday night following total breakdown of the renegotiation of the 2009 agreement between the union and Federal government.
