No hope for varsity students as ASUU vows not to call off strike

Squashing the hopes of university students who are anticipating the resumption of their academic activities which were halted by the COVID-19 lockdown period, the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) has vowed not to go back to work until all demands are met.

READ ALSO: ASUU urges FG to pay arrears of salaries of members

In a news conference in Ilorin, Kwara state, ASUU zonal coordinator of Ibadan zone, Professor Ade Adejumo made this known.

The Ibadan zone consists of University of Ilorin (Unilorin), University of Osun (UniOsun), Kwara State University (KWASU), and Ladoke Akintola University of Technology (LAUTECH).

Meanwhile, recall the staff union on March 23, embarked on an indefinite strike action due to a disparity with the federal government over the implementation of the Integrated Payroll and Personnel Information System (IPPIS).

Daily Times Nigeria learnt that the union further demanded from the government an initiation process that would lead to the validation of its alternative salary payment platform, the University Transparency and Accountability Solution (UTAS)

It also asked that the government pull out all academic staff already captured on IPPIS and enrol them on UTAS.

 Prof. Adejumo at the conference stated, “our strike action which was predicated on governments readiness to honour its MOA with us continues, even if the universities are opened today. It is our responsibility to call governments attention to its duties to the nation and its citizens; this we have done and there is no going back”.

He said, “It is unfortunate that the government has refused to take upon its own responsibility to use the period of the Covid-19 pandemic to address their demands.

“One would have thought that the government would use the opportunity of the lockdown to address the issues in contention with ASUU.

“Surprisingly, the government was carrying on as if the problems no longer exist and as we speak, the government has not called ASUU for discussion on the demands

“We want to say that, if the federal government announce the school’s resumption today, without attending to our demands, our union will not resume duties”

In addition, Adejumo stated that “Nigerians should note that IPPIS, though not part of our initial charter of demands, it has been elevated to the status of the main issue by the government.

“We need to let the whole world know that IPPIS design of the federal government is exclusive to us alone in Nigeria, there is nowhere in the world where it exists. Even the particular country that we copy don’t operate it”

“Even at that, the union has met the government’s challenge for ASUU to develop an alternative platform that will take care of the peculiarities of the university system. “To this end, we have developed and presented UTAS well ahead of the 18 months period that we promised while still addressing the problem of corruption as being touted by the government and this platform which is more comprehensive and robust that IPPiS was developed by our teams of experts completely using our resources”.

Furthermore, in view of existing Covid-19 complications in the country, Adejumo who said, members of the union are not in any way opposed to calling for the reopening of universities in the country.

However, he urged the federal government to do the needful by providing facilities in the nation’s universities that would contain the spread of the pandemic in the university communities and avert tragedy.

Adejumo said, “throwing schools open in the midst of COVID-19 pandemic is an open invitation to tragic explosion of the scourge on a scale never witnessed anywhere since its outbreak!”.

READ ALSO: Reopening universities is a suicide mission — ASUU…

Adejumo, who noted that there have been agitations from some quarters for the government to re-open schools, especially by proprietors of private universities, said that lives of students should not be endangered for pecuniary gains. “Has the Nigerian government met the NCDC criteria on COVID-19 protocol in our institutions?

“Must we endanger the lives of our children for pecuniary gains?

“Should the primary issue on life and death be used on profit matter?

“COVID-19 is still very much with us. It is in recognition of this fact that the government itself has rolled out certain conditions to be met before schools are re-opened.

“How many of our public institutions can confidently vouch for the safety of our children given the available facilities such as provision of running water for handwashing; social distancing among students; the use of recommended face masks and shields, which are key components of NCDC protocols?

“A situation where a room meant for four now houses 20 students cannot be said to be social-distancing compliant.

Our position, as a responsible Union on all these is that; throwing schools open in the midst of all these, is an open invitation to tragic explosion of the COVID-19 scourge on a scale never witnessed anywhere since its outbreak!”.