No going back on strike –Lecturers insist

Striking lecturers on Tuesday insisted that they would not return to class as directed by the Federal Government.

This is coming as the ultimatum given to them by the Federal Government to return to work expires today.

The Supervisory Minister of Education, Mr. Nyesom Wike, on Thursday had directed the striking teachers to return to work  on or before December 4 or face dismissal.

Government had however extended the ultimatum to Monday to enable the lecturers t0 participate in the burial of a former President of ASUU, Prof. Festus Iyayi on Saturday.

He also asked the authorities of all the nation’s public universities to open attendance registers for the returning workers.

But at their different congresses on Tuesday, the striking lecturers under the auspices of the Academic Staff Union of Universities vowed that the sack threat by the Federal Government would not stop the five-months old industrial action.

Some branches of the union, which insisted on the continued action, were the Lagos State University, Ojo; Olabisi Onabanjo University Ago-Iwoye; Federal University of Agriculture, Abeokuta; University of Calabar; Ekiti State University, Ado-Ekiti University of Abuja; University of Port Harcourt; and the University of Benin.

The LASU chapter chairman of the union Dr. Adekunle Idris, who addressed journalists after the congress, said they resolved that the strike would continue until the Federal Government met their demands.

The congress, he said, also resolved that no member of the union would sign the attendance register in the institution.

Describing the sack threat as mere propaganda, he said the branch was not only committed to the  industrial action but also supportive of the decision of the national body to press for proper funding of education.

His OOU counterpart, Dr. Nasir Adesola, said the union would not succumb to the threat by the Federal Government to sack the lecturers.

Adesola, who is also the South-West coordinator of ASUU, stressed that their demands from government were modest.

PUNCH NG