The Nation Newspaper

Tag: Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU)

  • Varsity suspends ASUU chair for alleged sexual assault

    Authorities of the Ambrose Alli University, Ekpoma, Edo State, have suspended the Chairman of the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU), Prof. Monday Igbafen, for alleged sexual harassment.

    Igbafen, an Associate Professor in the Department of Philosophy, was alleged to have threatened female students with sex-for-marks.

    A statement by the university’s spokesman, Mr. Edward Aihevba, said the suspension followed the arraignment of Prof. Igbafen before the Senior Staff Disciplinary Committee (SSDC) on allegations of gross misconduct bordering on sexual harassment and threat of marks for sex.

    Aihevba said Igbafen had been found culpable and indicted by an investigative panel of the university for sexual harassment.

    Read also: Man, 44, ‘rapes’ six-year-old girl

    He said a family of a female victim had threatened to drag the institution before the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC) if it failed to bring Prof. Igbafen to book.

    Igbafen said he would expose the Vice Chancellor, Prof. Ignacious Onimawo, to the world that blackmail would not work in the university.

    He said the suspension was part of a grand plan to intimidate ASUU chapter in the university.

  • Students storm INEC offices for ad-hoc job

    Students nationwide are trooping to the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) offices across the country to be registered as ad-hoc staff following the suspension of the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) strike.

    In Kaduna State, students besieged the 23 local governments for the ongoing training of INEC ad-hoc staff for the general elections which begin on Saturday with the presidential and National Assembly polls.

    The trainees also comprised serving and former corp members, MDA staff members and  students of federal or state tertiary institutions alike.

    Secretary-General Kaduna Polytechnic Students’ Union Comrade Mubarak Abdulganiyi described the development as; “an indication of hardship in the country.”

    Idris Ibrahim, a student from Usman Dan Fodio University (UDUS) undertaking his training at Igabi LGA also agreed with Mubarak.

    “Poverty is the principal cause and with the effect of the strike, students crowd the centres. If people have work to make ends meet, they wouldn’t be so disturbed about INEC ad-hoc staff”.

    While Olorunshola Samuel – an undergraduate of Kaduna State Polytechnic undergoing his training at Kaduna South also lamented over the development:

    Read also: $165m Blue Water Estate berths in Lagos

    “The incapacitated government and the self-centered academic union have led to the enormous participation of students in the ongoing INEC Ad-hoc training”. The hard-working students who don’t want to remain idle have to be engaged in the training to earn a living”

    For Ogunwole Moses, who is undertaking his training in Kaduna South LGA simply believed the catchy payment and ASSU strike are responsible for the turnout”.

    It’s crystal clear that the enormous participation of students can be attributed to the effect of industrial action being embarked by the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU), as well as the intense idleness and hardships growing among students. It’s therefore necessary of them to opt for a temporary income jobs while FG-ASUU negotiations continue.

  • LASU lecturers want union dissolved over alleged fraud, hate campaign

    •We comply with the Constitution, says ASUU

    A group of lectures in Lagos State University (LASU) under the aegis of Concerned Members of Academic Staff Union of Universities, have called on the national body of the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU), to rescue ASUU-LASU from some charlatans whose unwholesome activities are capable of damaging the reputation of the union, while also sending ASUU LASU into extinction.

    The group also appealed to ASUU national to dissolve the current executive whose tenure expired since March last year. Similarly, the group also begged the parent union to send representatives to LASU to appraise the true scenario against the lies the local chapter has been peddling and spreading all over.

    Addressing the media in a briefing at the university premises yesterday, the group identified the immediate past chairman of ASUU-LASU Dr  Idris Adekunle, of not properly guiding the current executive.

    Immediate past Dean Faculty of Arts Prof Leke Fakoya, pointed fingers of accusation at the current executive of the union for perpetrating series of atrocities to dent the image of the university.

    Reading from a prepared speech, Fakoya lamented that the remnant of ASUU LASU, in their desperate bid for relevance, have been sponsoring hate campaigns against LASU, pilfering the union resources and exhibiting blatant disregard to constructive criticism.

    Aside losing sight of the focus of ASUU anchored on staff welfare, Fakoya lamented that they have also resorted to blackmailing or victimizing members opposed their opinions.

    He said: “The present and immediate past ASUU LASU exco members became so paranoid that they made allegations against all past leaders of ASUU LASU members and suspended them from meetings and other ASUU LASU activities. These past leaders have been on suspension for at least four years now, while over 100 responsible members have withdrawn their membership in protest against the present exco’s reckless leadership attitude.”

    Going down memory lane, a member of the group and also a former chairman of ASUU LASU Prof Kabir Akinyemi, said following the dismissal of Dr Akinloye Oyewunmi and Adeyemi Suenu who were former chairman and vice chairman of ASUU LASU respectively about two years ago, the exco presented an atmosphere of violence about LASU to ASUU national, a development Akinyemi said prevented the union from conducting a fresh election since the tenure of the current executive expired in March last year.

    Another member of the group and former secretary of ASUU-LASU Prof Elia Wahab, said the duo were dismissed for individually committing academic infractions, and not for fighting the cause of ASUU, a condition that would have entitled them stipends from the union’s account. He expressed surprise that despite the duo’s dismissal, Oyewunmi continued to be a signatory to the union’s account, and his vice Adebowale Adeyemi-Suenu being fraudulently paid N50,000.00 cash each as stipends monthly, something against the union’s constitution.

    “The present ASUU-LASU exco members have used the excuse of Dr Isaac Oyewunmi’s dismissal to perpetrate fraud, deceit and illegality. Our investigation into the management of ASUU -LASU bank account revealed that the dismissed Dr Isaac Oyewunmi was a principal signatory to the account until January 15 2019 when we vehemently kicked against it.”

    Another member Prof Biodun Akinpelu, described many in the group as individuals of proven integrity who have made sacrificed to the development of ASUU LASU over the years.

    He corrected the misconception that the group us pro-management, adding that members were concerned about correcting the maladministration of the present executive and setting ASUU LASU back on the path of integrity.

    Akinpelu said the present management may not have been perfect, but should be accorded credit for having promoted over 150 members to professorial cadre, address workers-staff face off,  improved infrastructures, and operate a policy that encourages members to commend or critise them as the case may be.

    However Comrade Idris who pleaded to speak to The Nation as a member of the executive and not ASUU-LASU Chairman, said many of the suspended chairmen were envious of the achievements of the of the immediate past as well as the current executive.

    Idris recalled that some of the suspended chairmen of the union committed anti-parties activities that warranted their suspension. He said instead of them to follow the union’s laid down procedure for coming back, they wrote management to stop their check off dues, thereby automatically exiting themselves from ASUU-LASU.

    “You remember one of our past chairmen during the tenure of Obafunwa (immediate past VC of LASU), granted an exclusive interview in a national daily, throwing his weight behind the increase in tuition which the management introduced then, and asking students who could not afford it to look for admission elsewhere.

    “That was just one of it! We have a good number of them that ran foul of the union rules at one point or the other.

    Idris also justified the N50,000.00 payment to the aforementioned union leaders, saying the process leading to their dismissal was compromised.

    “What ASUU constitution says is that we can draw funds from the welfare account if a member is being  victmised or has health issues. In the case of Oyewunmi and Adeyemi-Suenu, we felt they were unjustly dismissed by the university. They have gone to court and until the court of the land upholds the university’s decision or otherwise, they will be entitled to a stipend from the purse of the union which is the N50,00.00 we gave them. And we stopped it as soon as they got a job in another university.”

    He said the union is convinced that management was behind the group’s intention, adding that ultimate goal was to convince the management to stop union check off dues so as to cripple them financially.

    “But we would advise them not to advise management to toe that path,” Idris said.

    “ASUU is not an arm of the university; therefore it has no right to stop members’ check off dues.

    “Two, some of these members were suspended and in anger they have requested that their check off dues be stopped. By stopping their check off dues, they have automatically ceased to be members of ASUU-LASU. So if you are no more paying your check off dues to the union’s purse, why should you the ask management to stop the check off dues of other members that are paying?”

    END

  • Why FG withheld salaries of health workers, by Ngige

    Minister of Labour and Employment Senator Chris Ngige has said the federal government withheld salaries of health workers who embarked on strike in 2018 because the International Labour Organisation (ILO) convention allowed employers to hold back salaries of workers on essential services anytime they withdraw their services.

    Ngige also said that by the oath of the medical profession, professionals are not supposed to embark on strike because the services they render have to do with human lives, which if lost cannot be regained.

    The Minister, who spoke in an interview at his residence in Abuja at the weekend, said the government did not apply the same policy on the striking members of the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) and the Academic Staff Union of Polytechnic (ASUP) because the lecturers can recover lost ground by teaching extra hours.

    He also said the Minister of Education did not write to request for permission from his Ministry in accordance with the law requesting for permission to apply the no work, no pay rule.

    While the government was yet to pay the salaries of health workers on the platform of the Joint Health Sector Unions for the period of April and May 2018 when they were on strike, they failed to apply the same rule on the striking lecturers, withdrawing the notice barely 24 hours after it was issued.

    Health workers have alleged they are being punished because the Minister of Labour and his health counterparts are medical doctors.

    Read Also: …N27,000 is for all workers— Ngige

    Explaining what led to the invocation of the policy on the health workers, the Minister said: “When they went on strike in 2018, I told them as the conciliator, ‘’call off your strike to make for meaningful discussions so that no one will be under duress’.

    “They started the discussion with health and it broke down, they were still on strike and they came to me and when they came to me I said I will not conciliate anymore because if I apprehend a strike they must call off.

    “If you don’t call off I only have two things to do. It is either I send you to industry aberration panel or I can send you direct to a National Industry Court of Nigeria NICN.

    “They refused to call off and the health ministry wrote me and informed me that they are invoking ‘no work, no pay’ which is section 43 of the trade dispute act which say that when a worker leaves his work and goes away, the employer is not obliged to pay during those periods.

    “In many of the principles and conventions and decided cases that came to the committee on freedom of association and the committee on labour standards; the ILO have rules that apply to essential services.

    “They defined essential services as those services in which when the worker withdraw his services, such withdrawal will cause interruption that will lead to lose of lives and safety on a national scale or provincial scale or you have a national calamity, the employer is permitted to withhold wages.

    “It went further to say that in withholding wages, the employer can also replace such staff to make the business run and if it is a hospital; saves lives.

    “They have started comparing issues and saying that health minister and myself are doctors and because of that, we said that the salaries should be ceased or withheld.

    “But the labour laws are clear in section 43 that if there is withdrawal of services especially when it is done illegally or done by an essential service person, you have right to withdraw with those salaries or wages to enable you put someone else there.

    “This is the position; you can’t compare a worker who is in charge of dialysis or nursing services to a lecturer because once a life is lost in the period of strike you can’t replace it while a lecturer can teach day and night to make up for the lost grounds that is why the labour act and the ILO defines essential services and makes particular clearance for them.

    “It is not that I hate anybody or the health minister hates anybody. But this is what it is and this is enforced by the fact that some doctors who went on strike in some hospitals in 2016 had their money ceased at federal medical centre Owerri and Jos.

    “They withdrew their services unjustly and because they are essential services workers, section 43 of the law applies to them.

    “They came back in 2018 to beg me to beg Health Minister and I said you are my colleagues but I couldn’t and I won’t because the lives lost at that time, we can’t replace them.

    “I am a doctor and I have never gone on strike in my life because it is against the doctoral oath. Even those nurses, it is against their oath. So for me, once you are on essential services and you want to withdraw your services it must have its consequences as far as I am concerned.”

  • Parents in Enugu hail ASUU over suspension of strike

    A cross-section of Enugu parents have expressed happiness over the suspension of the three months strike by the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU).

    Some parents, who spoke to the News Agency of Nigeria in Enugu, on Saturday, expressed joy that their children would be resuming school after months of uncertainty about their future.

    Mr Ikonye Egbuna, a civil servant, said his joy knew no bounds when he heard the news that the strike had been suspended by the leadership of ASUU.

    According to Egbuna, his two children that are in the university are tired of staying at home with nothing tangible to do.

    Another parent, Mrs Evelyn Ezeaba, a businesswoman, said that she was happy over the development because her son had been worried over the delay in calling off the strike so he could resume school.

    “Infact, I thank God because now my son can resume studies and I can have peace of mind that he would not fall into the wrong hands because of idleness,’’ Ezeaba said.

    Mrs Ekwy Onuigbo, a widow, commended ASUU for the wise decision it took to call off the strike, adding that it had not been easy with many parents who were struggling to make ends meet.

    Onuigbo said parents expected timely completions of their children’s studies so they could graduate and find work to lessen the burden on the parents.

    Read Also: Breaking: ASUU suspends strikes, reaches agreement with FG

    She said he incessant strikes by lecturers in Nigeria’s tertiary institutions had become worrisome because it was adversely affecting the future of children who were being denied the opportunity to be at par with their counterparts globally.

    Mr Romanus Umeohia, another parent called on the Federal Government not to fail in its promises to ASUU in order to forestall any misunderstandings that could lead to disruption of academic activities.

    Some students who also spoke to NAN expressed joy at the decision by ASUU.

    NAN reports that ASSU had on Thursday announced its decision to call off the protracted strike which paralysed activities in Nigerian universities.

     

  • Stop distorting facts, ASUU tells FG

    The Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) has asked the federal government to stop distorting facts about funds released to the union and the universities, saying the ongoing strike by the university teachers is still lingering because of a few disagreement between the government and the union on the mode of releasing agreed funds to the Universities.

    National President of the union, Prof. Biodun Ogunyemi who spoke with The Nation on the sideline of the Central Working Committee meeting of the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) at the weekend said the union was not a spending agency of government, adding that the comment credited to the Minister of Labour and Employment, Senator Chris Ngige that N163 billion was released to the Union was a distortion of facts.

    Ogunyemi said the N163 billion referred to by the Minister was released to the Universities by the Tertiary Education Trust Fund (TETFUND) to meet specific needs in the universities and should not be equated to the revitalization fund being demanded by the unions.

    He said “The Minister of Labour referred to the release of N163bn which was not released by the Ministry of Education for revitalization. That fund he alluded to was from TETFUND.

    “TETFUND was there when we carried out the NEEDS Assessment in 2012. What we called Revitalisation Fund today is a product of that exercise of 2012. We have always drawn a line of distinction between what TETFUND gives and what we should access from the NEEDS Assessment Fund. They are different terms of interventions that should not be equated to one.

    “TETFUND as an intervention agency is ASUU brainchild which became a reality. The funds from the NEEDS Assessment is to fix specific items of deficiency in our system.

    Unfortunately, both federal and state governments have now relinquished their responsibilities to TETFUND. The Federal Government budget for education in term of capital project funding is worrisome.

    “That is why we keep saying that the Ministry of Labour and Employment should stop saying N163bn has been released to ASUU. ASUU is not a spending agency of government. We don’t spend government money. When money is released, it goes to the universities and governing councils who are representatives of government in the schools. It is a distortion if we say N163bn was released to ASUU.”

    He explained that the issue of university revitalization has remained contentious with the union demanding a release of N50 billion to the Universities before the strike is suspended, while government is saying it cannot meet that demand as a result of the condition of the economy.

    He said “The area that is perhaps most contentious is revitalization. That is where we said the Federal Government should release N50bn. We proposed that government should release one tranche of N220bn but it claimed that N20bn was released earlier. That N20bn was promised early in 2017 but was released late in 2018. The government is now taking that as part of the N220bn we are calling for.

    “That means we have N200bn left to make it one tranche. We advised that the amount should be split into four tranches so that N50bn will be released first. That was our demand. It is a minimal position, but government said it was not possible because of the economic situation of the country.

    “It proposed that it will be increased in the second quarter. That is what we are yet to agree on as it concerns revitalization. We hope government will do a rethink on this before the middle of this week so that we can meet again and sort out the gray areas.”

    Read Also: ASUU, government and development

    He expressed the hope that when both parties meet again later this week, the issues in contention will be resolved to allow students return to classes, saying “In the last meeting we had, we tried to trash the grey areas. They gave us the updates on items on the list and narrowed it to three areas that have yet to be finalised. Our members are serious about those areas.

    “The one about shortfall is neither there nor here. Although government gave us evidence about payment to universities, we are still awaiting confirmation (of the receipt) from the universities. Only some have confirmed it.

    “Concerning the issue of earned academic allowances, we are consulting our members on what the government wants to pay now. The problem there is the reschedule of payment of the balance. With the report of the forensic audit, we have a clear idea of what the government owes up till 2016.

    “We agreed with the government proposal of paying in four installments. What we have not finalised is the proportion of the payment. We also agreed that government can pay the money in 36 months. This means that at the end of every nine months, something must be paid.

    “On the issue of our Pension Fund Administrators which is Nigerian Universities Pension Management Company, we have seen some green light and hope that the licence for our operation, as promised, should be out this week. These are areas we are working on.

    Ogunyemi said the union has tried to bend backward in its demands as a result of the intervention of Nigerians, saying “We have been reducing our demands because of the intervention from stakeholders and when we meet again, we will be hoping to arrive at something acceptable.

    “As an individual, I don’t have a say in when the strike will end. If government comes up with a proposal that will sell before our people, it will be easier for us to tell them that government has tried its best. It is not enough for us to say that we have tried our best. Government must also show that it has tried its best. Our members are reasonable.”

  • ASUU/ASUP Strike: Fund education, students tell FG

    Adeyinka Akintunde

     

    Students have called on the federal government to listen to demands of the striking university lecturers and fund education for the progress of the country.

    This was the resolution at the weekend in Lagos during a protest by a coalition of student groups from different campuses in Lagos State.

    Speaking to The Nation, the national mobilization officer of the Education Rights Campaign (ERC), Wole Olubanji said that the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) and the Academic Staff Union of Polytechnics (ASUP) are justified in their demands, going by the conditions in tertiary institutions today.

    He said, “ASUU and ASUP are justified in their course. It is the federal government that has been reneging in their agreement with the body, and the agreements are still relevant today. We have universities without schools and laboratories, pointing to the fact that government have to fund education.

    Asked if the demands made by the university lecturers are realistic, Olubanji said “When government was going to bail out the banks, was it realistic to spend as much as a trillion naira on bailing bankrupted institutions. But they did that because they had interest in their deposits saved in them. But we are talking about institutions that affect the general Nigerian masses”.

    “Why should a government exist if it cannot benefit the citizens? Government should to use the resources of the country to advance its citizens, and it can be done by education.”

    Read Also: ‘My government will interface with students’

    Olubaji noted that the Nigerian people are the real democracy the country enjoys, and they should be treated as such. “The ordinary Nigerian people are the real democracy in this country.  It is only a few people that are in the government, and opposition, majority of Nigerians are not involved, and this is because they are disappointed in what they have seen from the government.

    The ERC mobilization officer also had a word for students who just want the strike to end immediately. “If we have a situation where Nigerian students are united to make a justified demand, we will achieve our aims fast, but some people are afraid and they want ASUU/ASUP to call off the strike, so that they can graduate, but from what realistic angle are they coming from in their argument?

    ASUU had embarked on an indefinite strike since November 5th 2018, with sister body ASUP joining in 12th December 2018, over the non-implementation of the 2009 Federal Government/ASUU agreements and implementation of the 2013 and 2017 Memorandum of Understanding it signed with the union. The agreement between the Federal government and ASUP also remain unimplemented since 2016.

  • Atiku promises youths 40 percent appointment in his cabinet

    The crisis rocking the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) of the Federal University Oye Ekiti chapter worsened on Tuesday when aggrieved members disrupted a congress presided over by the zonal chairman of the union, Akure branch Prof Olu Olu.

    The aggrieved lecturers insisted the embattled chairman of the chapter Dr. Akinyemi Omonijo must step aside first before any congress would hold on the campus.

    The Nation gathered the congress of the academic union was about to hold at about 1pm at the venue on Tuesday when angry members stormed the venue to stop the meeting, rang bell, made so much noise and chased away those who wanted it to hold.

    A leader of the union and Dean of Faculty of Arts of the university, Dr. Popoola Tajudeen, who spoke about the cause of the disruption said: “There was to be a congress but there was no congress because our members felt strongly that Prof Olu Olu who has been part of our problem in this chapter should not now come to foist any congress on us and they insisted that he cannot hold any congress when the chairman of our chapter that he is imposing on us has committed impeachment offences.

    Read Also: Buhari versus Atiku: How states will vote

    “There has been a resolution on ground that the chairman has committed impeachable offences and should go.

    “Our people really felt bad and demonstrated their grievances. They spoke their mind. However there was no casualty.

    “The demands of our members who insist they are still part of ASUU is that current chairman of our branch Omonijo should step down because he has committed impeachable offences.

    “Our people cannot allow a system where some people from outside would cone and lord over us.

    “We have our own internal problem and we should be allowed to solve it internally.  Our people want ASUU to move on but we don’t want Omonijo again,” he said.

  • FUOYE, ASUU crisis worsens as aggrieved lecturers disrupt congress

    The crisis rocking the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) of the Federal University Oye Ekiti chapter worsened on Tuesday when aggrieved members disrupted a congress presided over by the zonal chairman of the union, Akure branch Prof Olu Olu.

    The aggrieved lecturers insisted the embattled chairman of the chapter Dr. Akinyemi Omonijo must step aside first before any congress would hold on the campus.

    The Nation gathered the congress of the academic union was about to hold at about 1pm at the venue on Tuesday when angry members stormed the venue to stop the meeting, rang bell, made so much noise and chased away those who wanted it to hold.

    A leader of the union and Dean of Faculty of Arts of the university, Dr. Popoola Tajudeen, who spoke about the cause of the disruption said: “There was to be a congress but there was no congress because our members felt strongly that Prof Olu Olu who has been part of our problem in this chapter should not now come to foist any congress on us and they insisted that he cannot hold any congress when the chairman of our chapter that he is imposing on us has committed impeachment offences.

    Read Also: Dynamics of ASUU strike resolution

    “There has been a resolution on ground that the chairman has committed impeachable offences and should go.

    “Our people really felt bad and demonstrated their grievances. They spoke their mind. However there was no casualty.

    “The demands of our members who insist they are still part of ASUU is that current chairman of our branch Omonijo should step down because he has committed impeachable offences.

    “Our people cannot allow a system where some people from outside would cone and lord over us.

    “We have our own internal problem and we should be allowed to solve it internally.  Our people want ASUU to move on but we don’t want Omonijo again,” he said.

  • ASUU bars members from 2019 elections

    The Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) has barred its members from participating in the 2019 general elections processes.

    It also said offers from the Federal Government in the efforts to meet its demands as contained in the 2017 Memorandum of Action (MoA) are still fluid and far from expectations.

    It, however, allows members to voluntarily participate but without using any material that bears ASUU or insignia that relates to the union.

    In a strike Bulletin 8 by the union’s President, Prof. Biodun Ogunyemi, a copy of which was obtained by the University of Ibadan chapter, the body asked members to await further developments on the strike which are ‘rapidly unfolding.’

    According to Ogunyemi, the proposal from government towards resolving the demands of lecturers as contained in the 2017 MoA is still fluid and far from expectations.

    Read Also: Strike: FG reaches agreement with ASUU

    The bulletin reads: “Though some progress has been made with respect to discussion with Government agents (The Minister of Labour and Employment as well as Minister of Education), at the moment, the proposal from Government towards resolving the demand of ASUU as contained in 2017 MoA and Strike Bulletin 1 is still too fluid and far from expectations. Hence, it is the view of the NSCC that members should await further developments which are rapidly unfolding.

    “In accordance with the ASUU’s long standing position, ASUU as a union will not participate in the conduct of 2019 general elections, although members may voluntarily participate in the conduct of the elections. However, members are prohibited from participating in the election processes using any material that bears ASUU or relates to the union”