SSANU say VCs frustrating FG’s efforts on strike, vows to fight on
By; Bayo Akamo, Ibadan.
The Senior Staff Association of Nigerian Universities (SSANU) has accused Vice-Chancellor’s of Nigeria Universities of frustrating Federal Governments effort at resolving its ongoing three weeks old nationwide strike.
Speaking through the Chairman of the University of Ibadan chapter of the union, Comrade Wale Akinremi, the union vowed to continue with its ongoing nationwide strike until the Federal Government is ready to meet its demand.
Addressing the University of Ibadan (UI) SSANU congress, Comrade Akinremi told the union members that 24 hours after a round table meeting with the Minister of Education, Vice-Chancellor’s of Universities started advertising vacancy for the positions of our members contrary to the FG’s gesture.
Comrade Akinremi pointed out that, “SSANU is not a strike-trigger-happy union but what government understands is strike because they are not ready to yield to our demands”.
“Federal government has been fair so far when we met with them for a meeting but subsequently what we saw was that after the Minister of Education told us that we should let them look into the matter and will call us to suspend the strike, less than 24 hours later the Universities authority started advertising vacancy for the positions of our members,” he said.
The SSANU Chairman noted that “this shows that the Vice-Chancellors are not interested in a peaceful industrial relations in the university sector and it is very unfair to the present administration that is interested in restoring the lost glory of our education sector”.
According to him, how can the President Muhammadu Buhari administration which at its inception promised to employ 500,000 teachers now turned back to plan to sack 2,000 workers, saying, “what we are particularly interested in is the future of the Nigerian child and the primary education of the Nigerian child”.
“We do not want government to do what will affect the primary education of the Nigeria child. If the government is expending a large amount of money on education in the 2016 budget, then why should they be planning to sack some workers in the university.
“Everybody knows that education is a social responsibility and it is not a revenue generation for the government, and if the government is arguing that primary schools should be privatised, then it is illogical and unthinkable. We are not doing this to destroy the education sector or the progress of the University of Ibadan (UI), but we are only using this to prove our position to the government.”
He stressed that SSANU’s position is that the strike continues until government yields to their demands, and that members of the union should continue to stay at home awaiting further directives.
SSANU, it will be recalled embarked on a three week nationwide strike over plans by the federal government to sack teachers in the federal universities staff schools in the country.
