The Nation Newspaper

Tag: Academic Staff Union of Universities

  • Our new year hopes, others, by students

    Our new year hopes, others, by students

    For students, 2025 was not just another year on the academic calendar; it was a masterclass in resilience. From the  Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU)  agitations to the ray of hope from the Nigerian Education Loan Fund (NELFUND), millions of students across the country felt  the performance of the education sector was more like a rollercoaster. WONDERFUL ADEGOKE (UDUS) and MOYOSORE SHITTU (UNILORIN) report.

    While the outgone year demonstrated that the education sector could be better with reforms, effective delivery of quality education, adequate funding and infrastructure, and sustained security in fringe communities, remain imperative.

    However, the reality of Usman Ahmed Alaliya, a student at the Federal University Dustin-Ma (FUDMA), is a system that questions the possibilities of an inclusive education.

    Alaliya said: “I am interested in education because it’s my bridge from isolation to contribution. It is the path that can allow me to turn my personal silence into a voice for advocacy, ensuring that the next generation of deaf students walk through an easier road.”

    An equally disheartening experience follows his resolve. “Ever since I gained admission into FUDMA in 2022, there has not been any sign language interpreter till today,” he disclosed. His revelation is a reflection of the challenges students with special needs face in their quest for education.

    Coming at a time when gaining accessibility to learning resources appears to be a larger demand against the long overdue inclusion, Alaliya said, although a friend of his offers helping hands, he’s pained that despite several visits to the Vice Chancellor to demand for the provision of a professional sign language interpreter, nothing has been done by Prof. Armaya’u Hamisu.

    Recalling a challenging moment he had in 300-level, he said: “My deaf coursemates and I attended lectures in the Department of Special Education. Often, the lecturers from other departments did not provide sign language interpreters. For instance, during a lecture on “Clinical Diagnosis,” I did not understand what the lecturer taught us.”

    Alaliya remains positive on the need to embrace inclusivity in 2026. The passage of the Nigerian Sign Language Bill, he noted, is the best approach for a lasting educational reform.

    Its consequences are fast unfolding.  To ascertain the widespread damage caused, CAMPUS LIFE spoke with Oyin Adegoke, a visually impaired student at the University of Ibadan (UI).

    Concerned about the gaps in the disability-inclusive campus she had hoped for, Oyin narrated her ordeal amid the growing advocacy and awareness for support; unfortunately, it now reflects one of the most mundane aspects within the four walls of her institution.

    “There are a lot of challenges I face. When it comes to writing tests or exams, the resources that are supposed to be used are unavailable. For instance, a laptop is required, but instead, they prefer we use typewriters. I don’t even know how to use a typewriter because I graduated from Queens College, Yaba, Lagos, and there we were taught to use laptops,” she said.

    Unlike her friends studying at the University of Ilorin (UNILORIN) and the University of Benin (UNIBEN), among many others, where adequate facilities are provided, her struggles highlight the experiences of students forced to cope with institutional policies that offer little succour with education as the bridge the President Bola Tinubu administration banks on.

    Speaking further, Oyin noted: “I’m really good at using laptops, but then they impose typewriters, which is really not good. I also don’t like the idea of someone writing the answers for you — like you saying the answers out and having them written for you. It’s quite time-consuming and a whole lot to deal with.”

    Offering a candid assessment of Nigeria’s education system, Anointed Adegoke, a Mathematics student at Usmanu Danfodiyo University, Sokoto (UDUS), spoke on  the level of digital literacy in the university community.

    “One of the main challenges centres on the access to relevant digital tools. Unlike before when dependence on technological tools brought criticism, if learning must match global standards, students should be exposed to an equal level of digital transition.

    “The world has gone digital. The era of pencil-and-paper learning might produce little results due to the declining learning outcomes. A very good example is seen in the state of our labour market.

    “While efforts are made towards increasing the visibility and impact of institutions, learning should be made more accessible with increased investment of modern state-of-the-art equipment. This also is a win-win for students and the government as it will form the foundation for a sustainable development,” Anointed noted.

    Similarly, in reaction to the quality of teaching,  Ladi Sabeh, a student at the College of Nursing Sciences, Sokoto, confirmed it hinders effective learning and a strong research culture, especially among science and medical students.

     Ladi said: “Students are then forced to rely on theoretical knowledge rather than practical experience. Research projects also get delayed because of lack of access to learning materials.”

    Although she speaks well of the stable academic calendar and updated curriculum in her school, she agrees that, in 2026, much more could be done to provide hands-on training for students in health-related disciplines.

    “Grants should be made available to both lecturers and students to encourage innovation and global competitiveness,” she added.

    For Daniel Oyewole,  a student at the University of Lagos, 2025 came with the familiar dread of strike. “It was another year to intensify prayers as we heard about warning strikes again,” he lamented. “I felt like my chances of graduating in 2026 were slipping away.”

    In October, we experienced a tense two-week warning strike that threatened to interrupt academic activities again. However, the year is ending with a landmark: there has been a breakthrough agreement between the Federal Government and ASUU that promises a 40 percent salary increase and a revamped funding model. For Nigerian students, this is sunshine on a rainy day, and hope has been restored again.

    Although the impasse of 16 years has seemingly ended, there remains  skepticism.

    “We’ve seen agreements signed before,” says Favour Ossai, a student at  the University of Calabar.

    “The performance of the education sector is not just about putting an end to strikes; it’s about the quality of the lecture rooms we learn in, and the labs we work in. Is it not appalling that I’m still studying with textbooks that are older than I am?”

    Read Also: FULL LIST: Prominent Nigerians who died in 2025

    For the first time in Nigeria’s history, student loan was introduced.

    Last year, the Nigerian Education Loan Fund (NELFUND) became the primary metric of the sector’s performance. Since its activation, the fund has recorded over 1.2 million applications, and a disbursement of approximately N116.4 billion to students across 239 institutions.

    For many, the allowance was the thin line between dropping out and graduation. However, the performance assessment is not unanimous, as the success was marred by an investigation that was carried out by the ICPC on N71 billion in allegedly diverted funds and reports from 51 institutions deceptively deducting from student upkeep.

    “The loan is helping me a great deal, yes,” says Tunde Martins, a final year student, “but the 10 percent NYSC deduction starting next year is worrisome. We are graduating into an economy with record inflation; how do we pay back money that we have not even earned yet?

    But beyond the strikes and the loans lies a silent crisis: the mental exhaustion of  students. Fikayo, a 300-Level student’s journey mirrors the struggle of thousands of students across the country.

    “Earlier this year, I was so sure. I had written down how 2025 was my ‘made year.’ In the first week, I convinced myself I had it all together- I was reading, researching, acing my tests. But somewhere along the line, the spark died. I found myself staring at a single line of text for 30 minutes, unable to understand and comprehend it.

    “I questioned God. I had a carryover in a course I was sure about, my second since 100-Level, despite the many sleepless nights and prayers. I stopped going to classes because it felt pointless. Losing your academic spark is more painful than any heartbreak, I tell you. While I am nowhere near my full potential yet, I am thankful just to be able to take a step again,” she said.

    Sadly, this is the reality of many students in tertiary institutions, and it’s heartbreaking, because a lot of people drop out because of similar experiences, since it seems like their efforts are not enough. The circumstances that many students are faced with, often take a toll on their mental health, and affect their capacity and output in the long run.

    For students, the performance of the education sector in 2025 will be summarised by a single word: survival. We have survived, and now we wait to see if the promises of 2025 will become the realities of 2026.

    If this were a report card, the remark would read: “Improvement in effort, failure in execution. More efforts required”.

  • N25bn earned academic allowance: FG commences payment to varsities

    The Federal Government has commenced the payment of N25 billion earned academic allowances of members of the Academic Staff Union of Universities to universities.

    Permanent Secretary, Federal Ministry of Education, Sonny Echono, disclosed this to The Nation in an interview on Monday in Abuja, the nation’s capital.

    The permanent secretary said the government has resolved all issues concerning earned academic allowance of members of ASUU.

    He blamed the delay in paying the money on lack of trust on the part of the union.

    According to Echono, the government initially released N20 billion to the union as part of earned academic allowances of members of ASUU, noting that the union held on until President Muhammadu Buhari approved additional N5 billion to bring the earned academic allowances of the union to N25 billion.

    “They fought for an increase in amount and which union should get more, academic or non academic. They said until it is complete they didn’t want to be paid in batch.

    Read Also: We’re yet to see FG’s N25bn allowance – ASUU

    “Initially, N20 billion was agreed but at the last minute before they signed, they pushed for 25 billion.

    “But N20 billion was released and they were holding on, believing that if they collect the N20 billion government will not bring the N5 billion.

    “There was a whole long issue on that but we have got Mr. President to approve the additional N5 billion.

    “This has been resolved and payment has commenced.”

    ASUU President, Prof. Biodun Ogunyemi, when contacted, said he was collecting feedbacks from its members before he could comment properly on the issue.

  • On ASUU strike and truce with FG

    After more than three months away from work the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASSU) has suspended its industrial action and returned to work. This is consequent upon a deal between the union and the Federal Government to, among other details, pay some N25 billion arrears of earned academic allowances and another N25 billion to be paid between April and May for the revitalization of the universities. Since 2009, the universities have periodically been on strike. This latest deal will not foreclose another strike or two in the near future. In fact, the 2019 elections may have forced the government to bend backward to reach an agreement with ASUU. This government has no one in their ranks to inspire that new deal that would move education forward in Nigeria. Until people who value education comes into office, every deal such as the one reached recently is a waste of time.

    Since the beginning of this decade, allocation to the education sector has remained below 10% of budget except in 2013 when it was 11.49%. Prominent among the demands of ASUU before the latest strike was the funding of the universities, they had demanded for the expenditure of N1.1 trillion to prevent the collapse of the tertiary level of education. Given the huge financial outlay, one would have thought that the Federal Government would propose a staggered payment of the sum over a period of five years starting from 2020 when the Federal Government would have removed subsidy on petrol to fund its payment. Despite the efforts of bodies like TETFUND in funding projects, many of our public universities have remained glorified secondary schools. Even now, the supply of funds from that source is being constrained by bureaucracy, which seems to indicate that the political class is totally against quality education or human capital development in the country. To that extent, strikes must be pursed to the logical end.

    • From Orfegah Jerry Jen

     

  • ASUU, FG resume discussion on 2009 agreement

    The Academic Staff Union of Universities on Wednesday resumed discussion with the team set up by the Federal Government to renegotiate the 2009 agreement with staff unions in universities, polytechnics and Colleges of Education based on the principle of collective bargaining.

    The five-man Federal Government renegotiating team has Dr. Olawale Babalakin, as its chairman.

    The meeting, which stated at about 10am, ended at 4pm.

    Babalakin, who is also the Pro-Chancellor of University of Lagos, confirmed the meeting with the ASUU team to reporters at the headquarters of the National Universities Commission in Abuja.

    He said the government team had a positive discussion with ASUU team led by its National President, Prof. Biodun Ogunyemi.

    He said the government team was hopeful of finalising negotiation with the union.

    Babalakin said: “We have resumed negotiation. The government team and the Academic Staff of Universities were appropriately represented and we had very positive discussion and we actually hope that we are on a good path for finalising the negotiation.

    “There were healthy discussions on topical issues and both sides made extensive contributions for the benefit of the university system. The negotiation, you have to seek the consent of the other party before you make such disclosures.

    “But at the stage of signing an agreement, we will be willing to tell you all the headlines and all the important issues.

    “Both sides are determined to put an end to this. So I reckon that it will happen within the fastest possible time.”

    Asked where the committee was with the renegotiation, Babalakin said: “It is the same negotiation. We had an interlude and that interlude is over and we are now back to where we left it at the time we had the interlude.

    “So it is a continuous negotiation for the betterment of the education system.

    On what the focus of today’s discussion was about, he said: “There are so many issues. ASUU submitted a time table today. If I can speak broadly, there are over twenty issues in that time table.

    “So it is not a singular issue. There are many issues to be discussed and they will all be discussed.

    “I am aware that even before this meeting, there were a memorandum signed with the federal government and that memorandum was presented to us among the papers that we saw. So I believe there is some progress, we just want a comprehensive one.”

    He added that the federal government would find solutions to the issues raised by ASUU.

    However, when contacted, ASUU President, Prof. Ogunyemi, promised to get back to our reporter.

  • ASUU president tasks FG on pro- poor policies

    The Academic Staff Union of Universities ( ASUU ) on Thursday called on President Muhammadu Buhari to come up with policies that would stimulate economic growth for the benefit of poor people during his next four-year tenure.

    The National President of the union, Prof. Biodun Ogunyemi made the call in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Lagos.

    Buhari polled 15,191,847 votes to defeat his closest rival, Alhaji Atiku Abubakar of the People’s Democratic Party in the presidential poll conducted on Feb. 23.

    Atiku polled 11,262,978 to lose the election with a margin of 3,928,869 votes.

    The ASUU president urged President Buhari to get down to work and ensure that his administration comes up with pro people policies that will be majorly tailored around key sectors such education, health, transportation and employment.

    “We must have a Nigeria that is liveable in the sense that what some people have been taking for granted must now be seen to engage the attention of any government that cares for the masses especially the under-previledged.

    “That is why we as a union, are calling for free education at all levels because we know that Nigeria as a country can afford it.

    “There is provision for it in our 1999 constitution as ammended.

    “For us to look towards a future that we can all be proud of, we must task government to be more pro-active in matters concerning the poor masses ” Ogunyemi said.

    The unionist also urged the president to put issues concerning the recent Memorandum of Action (MoA) it signed with his union in the front burner.

    “This government signed a MoA with us and we will insist on it. That is not negotiable.

    “Government is a continuum. Now that they are still in the saddle, that makes it more imperative for them to implement the MoA to the latter,” he said.

    NAN reports that areas of agreement include funding for revitalsation of public universities and the issue of Earned Academic Allowances, issue of University Staff Schools and the exemption offered by the government regarding the issue of
    Treasury Single Account, among others.

  • AAU: Suspended ASUU Chairman opens can of worms

    …He is drowning, says Varsity

     

    Suspended Chairman of the Academic Staff Union of Universities, Ambrose Alli University chapter, Prof. Monday Igbafen, on Thursday opened can of worms on the institution in his attempt to fight back.

    Prof. Igbafen, an Associate Professor in the Department of Philosophy, was suspended for alleged sexual harassment.

    Speaking to newsmen in Benin City, Prof. Igbafen said he was being victimized for asking the Vice Chancellor, Prof. Ignacious Onimawo, to account for the about N5.5billion received from TETFUND and NEEDS Assessment intervention funds.

    Prof. Igbafen said his fallout with Prof. Onimawo was because of his non compromising approach to acts of impunity exhibited by the VC.

    Read Also: FG, ASUU urged to keep agreements

    Igbafen said wife of the Vice Chancellor was elevated to the position of lecturer 1 from a position of a typist.

    According to him, “We (ASUU) challenged him to be open and transparent. You cannot move your wife from nowhere and make her a lecturer 1 without a PHD and academic master’s degree. We have been on the matter and he has made attempts to compromise me as the chairman of the union and I refused.

    “That led to his desperation that to insist that I should never be chairman of ASUU for a second time.

    “The university has collected more than N5.5billion for the past five years. From the TETFUND he has received more than N3.4billion while that from NEEDS Assessment is more than N1.2billion.

    “The union is demanding for how he has utilized these funds. Is it a sin to demand for how he has utilised our funds?”

    But spokesman for the university, Mr. Edward Aihevba, said there are other charges against Prof. Igbafen but the issue of sexual harassment was as a result of a petition from the victim’s family.

    Aihevba said the victim and her mother testified before a panel but the former administration did not look into the report.

    He said the VC has been prudent in administering intervention funds from NEEDs Assessment and TETFUND.

    According to him, “Prof. Igbafen should not be shouting. He is afraid that he is sinking. He should face the music. There are other things he did and at the appropriate time, he will be made to answer for them

    “The VC’s wife entered the university as a young lady. She got her degrees and was converted by a former administration and not her husband. She got her PhD and was made Lecturer 1.”

    Aihevba urged Prof. Igbafen to get proper education on how intervention funds are utilized within a university system.

  • Breaking: ASUU suspends strikes, reaches agreement with FG

    The Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) on Thursday suspended its three-month strike following an agreement it reached with the Federal Government.

    As a result of the agreement which was signed between the union leaders and government officials, the leadership of ASUU announced the suspension of the strike action.

    Minister of Labour and Employment, Senator Chris Ngige told newsmen at the end of the two hours meeting that all eight areas in contention have been resolved by both parties while implementation of some the agreement has already commenced.

    The Minister listed areas in contention which has been resolved to include the Nigeria University Pension Company, constitution of visitation panels, shortfall in Salaries, Earned Academic Allowance and revitalization funds for universities, adding that while the union has already collected the certificate for NUPENCO, government has made money available for the payment of the shortfall in salaries as well as Earned Academic Allowances.

    He also said the government has agreed to release N25 billion as revitalization fund between April and May 2019 after which it will commence full implementation of the 2009 agreement, while allowances of lecturers of University of Ilorin is to be paid immediately.

    The parties, he said also agreed that the Babalakin Committee which is charged with renegotiating the agreement should reconvene latest 18th February and March 29, 2019.

    Addressing newsmen later, President of ASUU, Prof. Biodun Ogunyemi announced that the leadership of the union has agreed to suspend the strike action immediately beginning from Friday, February 8, 2019 with the condition that it will not hesitate to resume the action if the government failed to meet there part of the agreement.

    He, however, lamented the role played by some Vice Chancellors who attempted to break the rank of the union, adding that it will not hesitate to tackle them head-on.

    Ogunyemi said that “Based on the initial proposals from Government, the Union made extensive consultations through its various organs.

    “The final level of consultation was the meeting of the National Executive Council (NBC) which took place 6th-7th February, 2019. NEC resolved that: Following a careful review of the report of engagements with the Federal Government on proposals for addressing all outstanding in the 2013 M011 and 2017 MoA, NEC resolved that the current strike action by the Union should be suspended conditionally with effect from 12.01 am on Friday 8, February, 2019”.

    “However, should the government fail to fulfil its part of the agreement as reflected in the 2019 Memorandum of Action, ASUU shall resume its suspended strike action as the Union deems necessary”.

    “ASUU notes, with serious concern, the covert and overt roles of some vice Chancellors in the management and application of funds attracted by our Union to Nigeria’s public universities. Consequently, we condemn, in the strongest terms, Vice-Chancellors who have made efforts to undermine and, in some cases, attempted to break our patriotic struggles for the revitalization of public universities in Nigeria.

    “ASUU will not shy away from taking headlong those Vice-Chancellors who are reputed for acts of impunity, nepotism and other forms of conduct which are antithetic to university culture and the progressive development of our universities. Our union will compile all their shenanigans and forward them to relevant authorities for further action.”

     

  • Resumption row at AAU

    • ASUU alleges members’ witch-hunt

    The Ambrose Alli University (AAU) in Ekpoma, Edo State, has resumed, drawing the ire of the striking Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU). The university claimed that the resumption was for financial reason but, ASUU is accusing it of witch-hunting the union’s members and forcing them to return to work. OSAGIE OTABOR reports.

    The sudden resumption of academic activities at the Ambrose Alli University (AAU) on Monday, last week, has further heightened the face-off between the management of the institution and its Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU).

    The national body of the university teachers started an indefinite dispute with the Federal Government since last November because of the latter ‘s refusal to  sign a Memorandum of Action on funding of public universities nationwide and payment of earned academic allowance (EAC), among other demands.

    However, the resumption at AAU brought excitement to the students. Newly admitted 100-Level undergraduates that were supposed to have resumed last year, were seen running to lecture halls.

    Notwhistanding, this did not go down with the leadership of AAU-ASUU. Same day, the union called for a congress to prevail on its members not to resume classes. The leadership of the Bénin Zone of ASUU was also in attendance in a show of solidarity. Surprisingly, the meeting ended in chaos with some lecturers in support, while others were against the strike.

    The Nation gathered that the battle between the two parties had been on for a while.

    When the national ASUU declared the strike   about three months ago, it was the Faculty of Law of AAU that first called the bluff of the union when it refused to comply with the strike order.

    Explaining his rationale, the Dean of the Faculty, Prof. Sunday Edeko, described strike as an outdated weapon of negotiation, adding that ASUU should look inwards for better options.

    Beside Law, some lecturers have resumed classes across faculties and colleges, such as the College of Medicine, Faculty of Law, School of Environment, and Department of Economics, among others.

    Meanwhile AAU-ASUU Chairman, Prof. Monday Igbafen, said the teaching is skeletal as the union still has a majority of its members behind it.

    The Nation‘s investigation revealed that it was the dwindling financial status of the institution that forced the varsity’s reopening. Management of the institution insisted it is either the university resumes and survives, or hold on to the strike, and sink.

    The Nation further found out that the N300m monthly subvention the institution receives from the government is not enough to pay salaries. The  ASUU chapter of AAU, it would be recalled, had bemoaned persisting underfunding of the institution, and had even threatened to go on indefinite strike.

    Ahead of last week’s resumption, sources said the Senate of AAU met with lecturers, explaining the dangerous financial implications the university would be further plunged should the closure of the institution continue. The source said the meeting ended with over 60 per cent of the lecturers agreeing to return to class.

    AAU, the second state-owned university in Nigeria, was established during the administration of the late Prof Ambrose Alli. Unfortunately, the university has suffered major underfunding over the years. Today, AAU remains a shadow of an ideal university. This was attested to by Governor Godwin Obaseki.

    ‘’It is saddening that the expectation of the university in driving research has failed,’’ Obaseki said after visiting the institution a few months ago.

    However, it was rather a captivating moment during ASUU congress. Hardly had the meeting started when some lecturers caused  an uproar, calling for an end to the gathering.The angry lecturers seized the microphone from Igbafen and took the speakers away. The melee made the other lecturers to flee for safety.

    After the fracas subsided, Igbafen told reporters that the strike was still on course, noting that the congress was meant to update members on the national strike.

    Spokesman for the university, Mr. Edward Aihevba, told our reporter that the institution opened for academics to get funding to meet its salaries’ obligations.

    Aihevba explained that the monthly subvention from the government only meets 45 per cent of its salaries and the balance paid from school fees. With this scenario therefore, its either the university be in sync with ASUU’s position or sink, he added.

    Aihevba explained that the management was not averse to ASUU’s struggle for improved funding of universities. Nonetheless, he said the management of AAU has a duty to ensure the survival of the institution, especially as funding comes from the government.

    His words: “We are between the devil and deep blue sea. If we stay in the strike, we sink. It is better we stay afloat while other universities are carrying on the action.

    “The things ASUU is asking for are things that will help the university system. A lot of things that would be beneficial to the lecturers are already being paid in state universities that are able like the AAU. The funding requirements are not immediately coming to AAU but Federal Government-owned universities. At the end of the day, we will come back to the state government that will comply according to its ability. So, whatever happens, it must be settled at the local chapter.

    “Our university has been in solidarity with other (federal) universities that will have full benefit of the strike. We are funded by our state government. Forty-five per cent of our salary requirement is what we get from the state government and we get the balance from our IGR (internally generated revenue), which is majorly school fees. This means we cannot afford our students remaining at home. We are determined in this university not to scuttle the academic calendar.

    “Enough of students losing time! After the whole strike thing, the benefit coming to us is on the long run. Right now, the students are the ones paying the fees. We do not want our students to be half-baked.”

    ASUU members are already polarised over the stance of management.

    One of them, who pleaded anonymity, said: “I have started lectures. ASUU is not my employer. We will not listen to them. My employers have said we should resume work and that we are going to do.”

    Another lecturer, Dr. Austin Aghemelo from the Department of Social Sciences, said the resumption was directed by the Senate of the institution after a meeting attended by over 150 professors.

    His words: “The Senate meeting was held and it is the highest body in the institution. Lecturers are ready to teach and some are in their offices.

    “ASUU did not employ me and they cannot tell me not to teach or leave the lecture hall.”

    Another lecturer, Dr. Abdulrasaq Momoh, said the ASUU strike was no longer going the way it was intended.

    Momoh said it was time ASUU leadership sought a way to end the strike because public opinion is against the measure.

    He stated that what occurred during AAU-ASUU congress was a negative pointer to the posture of leadership of ASUU on getting views from members on the agreement reached with the Federal Government.

    “ASUU has refused to carry all members along with its decisions. It did not get back to members to inform them about the negotiations,” Momoh said.

    He continued: “Many lecturers have already resumed since Monday. I am also a member of ASUU but I was not given the avenue to air my views.”

    All the threats against innocent students and parents failed. Students now know that they are fully safe and secure in the university. They now know that majority of lecturers are on ground and many now teach their courses. If you have not resumed, you cannot fathom what you are missing. Ask those who attended classes on Monday (last week).

    Some lecturers have resumed classes across different faculties and colleges, such as of the College of Medicine, Faculty of Law, School of Environment, and Department of Economics.

    Igbafen, however, insisted that academic activities were yet to start in AAU, adding that the congress would update members on the prevailing strike.

    Addressing reporters after the botched congress, Igbafen accused management of trying to divide the union by using some ASUU members to thwart the congress.

    He said: “While we were trying to start our meeting, some persons came to seize the microphone in the full glare of the Deputy Vice Chancellor, Administration. The unseen hand behind the fracas is the Vice Chancellor who is bent on stopping the strike.

    “We have one or two members we suspended who are teaching. In the Faculty of Law, only one man is teaching all the courses, including French. If you meet that kind of lecture going on, will you say that lectures are on?

    “We are on strike. What you are seeing on campus is a play well scripted by the VC. Why orchestrated violence in the congress if you feel you have the majority? He has started threatening our colleagues with sack. Many of the lecturers he recruited are still in temporary appointment. This strike is not against anybody. The VC is the greatest beneficiary of ASUU struggle.

    “The VC is perhaps broke. He wants to collect school fees. He has received more than N4.5billion since he came from TETFUND (Tertiary Education Trust Fund), and NEEDs assessment, which is because of our struggle. The money we are fighting for is appropriated by the VC.

    “We cannot be intimidated to resume work. The VC should go and tell the governor that the school is broke. He told Obaseki he could run the school even when we had always agitated for more funding. If the school is broke, must he force us? He should open a channel of communication and not to announce to the world that lectures have resumed. We are yet to get instruction from the national leadership of ASUU to resume work.”

    Aihevba, nonetheless, said sanctioning lecturers who refused to work WAs not on management’s table, since majority of ASUU members have resumed teaching.

    “The issue of sanction would not come now. More than 80 percent of the lecturers are ready to teach. If we got that number, then management reserves the right to decide what happens. We will be talking of sanction when school resumes. We have released the university calendar. All the faculties are open,’’ he added.

    Despite the face-off by both parties, the students expressed their excitement of being back to school. Fresh students told The Nation how excited they were.

    Constant Ozekhome of the Faculty of Law said she was shocked at the huge turnout of students.

    “This is the first day and the crowd is amazing. I commend the lecturers for making us to return to campus. All the courses have been introduced to us,” she said.

    Emmanuel Udoh, another 100-Level Economics undergraduate, said it was a great inspiration to have one’s dream of admission eventually realised.

    Udoh’s coursemate Gift Uwuanu-Nwosu lamented that staying back home was not encouraging.

    He said: “I am a very happy woman today. We had long waited for this. Some of us had even resigned to fate since there seemed to be nothing better coming up between the Federal Government and ASUU. All of a sudden, the school asked us to resume and here we are today.

    “The strike was a problem to us. I am happy. I received two lectures today,” Udo noted.

    “I am so happy (to resume) because staying at home made people think I never got admission,” said Charity Imiom, an Environmental Studies undergraduate.

    ” They started teaching today. The final year students are happy. They can now write their project. For the first year students, it is our first time of starting classes,” she added.

  • NANS: ASUU, ASUP strike may debar us from voting

    The National Association of the Nigerian Students (NANS) has expressed fears that its 22.3million members may be disenfranchised from voting in the forthcoming election, if the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) and Academic Staff Union of Polytechnics (ASUP) strike continues.

    The students’ body has therefore, threatened mass action, if Federal Government fails to address the lingering crisis between the unions  and the government immediately.

    It would be recalled that ASUU and ASUP proceeded on indefinite strike in November and December respectively, over government’s refusal to honour some agreements it signed with the unions.

    The students, who are about 22.3million as stipulated by Independent Electoral Commission (INEC),  registered in their schools   where they can exercise their voting right.

    To this effect, the body, in a statement signed by the President Comrade Danielson Bamidele Akpan, has vowed to disrupt the election from holding across the 36 states.

    “The continuous strike action by both ASUU and ASUP has not only brought increased pain on students and their parents, it is now seen as a deliberate ploy to disenfranchise our members, especially those who registered within their school environments and are presently in their various homes,” NANS stated.

    The statement continued: “Consequently, Nigerian students have decided to take their destinies in their hands, enough of the politics been played with our future.

    “We wish to inform the general public that Nigerian students would resist any election from holding in any part of the country should our campuses remain shut till election date. We are conscious layers of the nation and on no account shall we allow this sinister disenfranchisement of the largest voting population of our citizens in a major election to pass due to no fault of the students.

    “We have 22.3million  registered students, eligible to change the destiny of the nation. We refuse to be sacrificed in exercising this obligatory demand to our nation at this crucial moment.  Our voices must be heard and our votes must counts. To this end, the leadership declares ‘operation no resumption no election.”

  • Removal of EKSU VC illegal, says ASUU

    The Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) in Ekiti State Univeristy, Ado Ekiti (EKSU) has condemned the removal of the institution’s Vice Chancellor, Prof Samuel Oye Bandele, by Governor Kayode Fayemi, saying the action did not follow due process.

    According to a statement signed in Ado Ekiti on Sunday by ASUU-EKSU Chairman, Prof Olufayo Olu-Olu, “the vice chancellor of EKSU was arbitrarily removed. The removal is hereby condemned in strong terms and in its entirety”.

    Olu-Olu said that ASUU-EKSU Congress had at its meeting on Thursday, January 24 resolved that “in order to prevent unnecessary crisis and administrative problems, due process should be followed in governing of the university”.

    Fayemi had, in a statement by his Chief Press Secretary, Yinka Oyebode, last Tuesday removed EKSU VC alongside the Chief Medical Director of Ekiti State University Teaching Hospital, Dr Kolawole Ogundipe and Provost of College of Education, Ikere Ekiti, Prof Mojisola Oyarekua and announced their replacement in acting capacity.

    The governor’s action was sequel to the report of the visitation panels to the institutions and approval by the State Executive Council of the White Paper on the report.

    But ASUU, which said the governor lacked the powers to remove the VC, clarified that “it is the university Governing Council that has the power to remove the VC after following due process”.

    It said: “The university is an autonomous institution with extant rules and governing regulations and that the appointment and removal of a VC has procedures under the laws of the university. EKSU is not and cannot be an extension of the Ministry of Education