Nigerian professors cripple universities with indefinite strike

University lecturers across the country begin an indefinite strike from today.

National President of the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU), Professor Ukachukwu Awuzie who made this known Sunday in Port Harcourt said this time the strike would be" total and comprehensive".

According to him, there would be no grading and marking of scripts during the duration of the strike action.

He explained that their decision stemmed from what he described the refusal of the federal government to implement the core components of the 2009 FGN/ASUU agreement.

According to him with the failure of federal government to address the issues even when ASUU granted it a two months grace period it had become clear that the government was not willing to honor the agreement.

Describing the decision to embark on the indefinite strike as very painful Prof Awuzie who was flanked by other members of his executive said the union would alien with allied unions in the country to resist the proposed removal of fuel subsidy by the government.

"NEC, having noted that the federal government neglected, ignored, failed and refused to implement the core components of the 2009 FGN/ASUU Agreement after more than two years of its signing, having squandered two months it requested without achieving any progress in the implementation of the agreement, having sacked the Implementation Monitoring Committee that served as the forum for dialogue with ASUU on this dispute, is convinced that the government is terribly insincere and is manifestly unwilling to genuinely implement the agreement it freely entered into with ASSU.

The government has abandoned the main tenet of industrial democracy- that all agreements freely entered into must be honoured.

"Therefore, ASUU resolved, painfully, to direct all members of ASUU in all branches nationwide to proceed on a total, comprehensive and indefinite strike, beginning from the midnight of Sunday, 4th December, 2011.

For the avoidance of doubt, a total, comprehensive and indefinite strike means: no teaching, no examination, no grading of script, no project supervisions, no inaugural lectures, no appointment and promotion meeting, no statutory meetings (Council, Senate, Board etc) or other meetings directed by government or their agents",

"The World Bank and IMF were decisive in sponsorship and constitution of the Economic Team, which was put in place following the inauguration of Mr President after the April 2011 elections.

"The ruling class has failed. It cannot provide jobs, education, healthcare, affordable transportation, roads and so on. It is incapable of uniting the people; it uses ethnic origin as a political weapon. The ruling class violates the integrity of the judiciary.

The faction in power, with President Jonathan as head, is unable to protect the people from hunger, robbery, murder of innocent citizens and generalised insecurity. Politically, Nigeria is in a precarious position in spite of the 2011 general elections.

"In recent months, federal government has intensified its campaign for devaluation, privatization and petroleum price increase, which the Nigerian labour movement, including ASUU, shall resist", he said.

Vanguard

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