The Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) has vowed not to call off the one-month warning strike it began on February 14.
ASUU President, Professor Victor Emmanuel Osodeke, said during an appearance on Channels TV today, Feb. 28, that the union will not back down on the strike as the Federal government has consistently failed to keep the promises made to the union over the years.
The union said it no longer wants promises from the government but action.
Osodeke said: “For the past nine years or so, they have been giving us promises but once the strike is over, they relapse. So, our colleagues are tired of these promises which they don’t fulfil. What we want are actions.”
He said that if the Federal Government kept to its part of the deal, ASUU would not have gone on strike.
He disagreed with the argument that lecturers are paid for doing nothing after spending months on strike.
He said that in spite of the ASUU strike over the years, many schools have not missed any academic year.
He said this is because members of the union have sacrificed for the country’s educational system, with many lecturers sacrificing their leave for years just so they can meet up with the academic calendar.
Osodeke added that lecturers are paid for the work done and that anyone who says ASUU is paid after the strike is telling a lie.
The ASUU President also reacted to the planned protest by the National Association of Nigerian Students (NANS)
He said the students have the right to protest what they believe is wrong, but explained that ASUU is not moved by the planned protest.