The National President, Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU), Prof. Emmanuel Osodeke, has sympathised with university students over the prolonged strike by the union.
He made this known yesterday in Ota in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN).
He was reacting to the N34 billion released by the Federal Government for payment of minimum wage consequential adjustment.
NAN reports that ASUU has been on strike since February 14 over improved welfare package, better working conditions and the implementation of various labour agreements signed with the Federal Government between 2009 and 2020.
He said the students were suffering for Nigeria’s future and education system.
The ASUU president said the students were not being punished, but were paying the price to ensure that Nigeria had a good education system.
“ASUU sympathises with them, we believe that with what is going on, if we continue with the struggle, we will have an education system where Nigerian students will have the same lecture rooms with their foreign counterparts,”Osodeke said.
The ASUU president said there was no need to call off the strike when the Federal Government had not attended to their demands.
He, therefore, urged the Federal Government to do the needful, as the N34 billion released was not part of their demands.
NAN reports that the Federal Government had on Tuesday released N34 billion for the payment of consequential adjustment for minimum wage of workers in the education system.
ASUU has said if it fails to fight for a better university system, the future of the country will be in jeopardy.
It said in the last two decades, no government had willingly released money for the university system without strikes.
The Chairman, University of Ibadan chapter of the union, Prof. Ayo Akinwole, made this known yesterday while featuring on a programme of the Broadcasting Corporation of Oyo State (BCOS).
He asked Nigerians not to be deceived by the antics of the Federal Government over the ongoing payment of minimum wage arrears, saying: “The N34billion is being paid to lecturers and senior staff in universities, polytechnics and colleges of education and not ASUU.”
Akinwole said besides that the Federal Government was yet to provide concrete responses to the reasons why ASUU went on strike; those paid the consequential adjustment of their minimum wage were legally entitled to have been paid since April 2019.
