ASUU Gives Date For Crucial Meeting To Decide Students’ Fate

• As Aviation Workers Threaten To Shut Airports In Solidarity With ASUU

The National Executive Council of the striking Academic Staff Union of Universities is scheduled to hold its meeting in the first week of August, 2022, where the decision on whether to suspend or continue with the strike will be made.

The chairman of ASUU, Federal University of Technology, Minna chapter, Dr. Gbolahan Bolarin, confirmed the planned meeting to Journalists on Monday, noting that the meeting would be held either on July 30 or August 1, 2022.

ASUU has been on an industrial action since February 14, with tens of thousands of undergraduates out of universities.

The Association of Nigeria Aviation Professionals (ANAP) had threatened to shut down the aviation sector nationwide in solidarity with the striking Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU).

The aviation workers in a statement by ANAP General Secretary, Comrade Abdulrasaq Saidu, called on President Muhammadu Buhari to end the strike without further delay or they would shut down the sector.

According to the statement, ANAP stated that the continued stay at home by students of tertiary institutions in the country has contributed to the increase in crimes and other social vices as some of them now engage in some criminal activities capable of destroying their future and that of the country.

It noted that the university lecturers’ strike, now in its fifth month, has ridiculed the educational system and made it a laughing stock before the international community.

“Our children are using eight years to read courses of four years with resources being wasted. We cannot continue this way,” the association stated.

The group explained that ASUU, NASU (Non-Academic Staff Union of Educational and Associated Institutions), SAUTHRIAI (Senior Association of Universities Teaching Hospital Research Institutes & Allied Institutions), and NAAT (National Association of Academic Technologists) had been on strike for months due to the apparent failure of government to sign the re-negotiated 2009 Agreement with ASUU, failure to honour the terms reached in May 2022 MoU signed with ASUU, and habitual failure of government to respect Collective Bargaining Agreements willingly signed with labour unions.

It asserted that not only the students were suffering but their parents and society in general.

“The poor economy has also affected every home in the country, the education is the bedrock of any nation aspiring for greatness. ASUU strike will eventually lead to a regrettable situation in future if not well handled.

“The future of education will be bleak as little or no attention was being given to the system as most of the children of politicians were schooling abroad. Our members would join the Nigerian Labour Congress to protest against the situation in the tertiary education sector.

“Our members had been put on alert to join the solidarity protest on the directive of the NLC at very short notice,” the statement reads.