…urge President Tinubu to Honour 2009 ASUU/FG Agreement or Provoke Strike
The Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU), Ekiti State University (EKSU) Branch on Wednesday held a peaceful protest round the university campus to join the ongoing nationwide drive orchestrated by the Union to press home it’s long-jettisoned demand as contained in the ASUU/FG Agreement of 2009.
The protest rally, staged immediately after a Congress session, was led by the Branch Chairperson, Professor Sola Afolayan.
Addressing the gathering, Professor Afolayan said the demonstration is in a way, registering their displeasure with the way the Federal Government has been treating them.
He said:”The Federal Government has been quite insensitive to our plights as academics and this is killing our university; and this is killing our products (students) and we feel it’s high time we began to shout it out. We are always committed to what we do to sustain the university system. Unfortunately we are not appreciated.
Also, at the protest from Obafemi Awolowo University, was the Coordinator of ASUU Akure Zone, Comrade Adeola Egbedokun who lamented the Federal Government’s carefree attitude as exhibited by President Tinubu who had not deemed it necessary to invite ASUU for dialogue. Adding that
According to him, “Aluta will continue and one thing is very certain, victory shall be ours. In fact, we are tired. The situation is so bad that it has even become difficult for us to teach in the dilapidated situations we find ourselves.
” What we are doing today is just a warning shot, to tell everybody, the Nigerian populace, that enough is enough, we can no longer continue in this direction.
“This is why we are urging the public to impose it on President Tinubu to call us out now for a fruitful discussion which will lead to the implementation of the 2009 ASUU/FG Agreement as re-drafted by the Nimi Briggs Committee*
In his own reaction, the Immediate Past Zonal Coordinator (IPZC) of Akure Zone Professor Olu Olufayo corroborated that the rally was to sensitize the teaming public on the plights of the Nigeria lecturers and students.
“Our predicament has come a long way passing through different regimes of inactive governments and we feel it is necessary to let the public know our situations and the government unfriendly posture.
Meanwhile, some students who spoke with journalists noted that strike at this period would cause more damages to the education system and individual students.
They appealed to government to attend to the demands of the lecturers to avert any strike.
