The President of the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU), Prof Emmanuel Osodeke, has said members of the body may find it difficult to get to their respective schools on Monday as they do not have “money for transport”.
He disclosed this on Sunday while speaking about matters arising from the suspension of the ASUU strike on Channels Television.
Prof Osodeke said unlike those days when lecturers lived in staff quarters very close to campuses, most lecturers now live far away from the school campuses as most schools could not provide accommodation for them.
He said since they have not been paid for eight months, it would be difficult for them to afford the transport fares to their respective schools to teach students.
“In schools those days, every lecturer lives on campus and you can trek to your office but these days, many lecturers live 20, 30 kilometres to their offices. How will they pay for their transport to work?
“These are the issues we are going to have, that the branches will have to deal with. We expect the government to pay the money [eigth months salary arrers] so that these people will go back to work while we are negotiating on other issues.”
Confirming the suspension of the strike, he said “we suspended the strike hoping that the government will do the needful and by tomorrow, if the universities are open, hopefully, the lecturers will go back to work.
“We are resuming because we are obeying an industrial court judgement because the issues have not been fully resolved, no agreement signed.
“We are also hoping that with the intervention of the Speaker [of the House of Representatives, Femi Gbajabiamila], as promised by him, we will resolve this problem within a very short time.
“Our lecturers will teach but you can’t expect someone who is owed eight months’ salary, maybe from his bank, he has collected more than N1m as a loan and you have not paid him one kobo and you want him to go to class and teach.
5 Comments
ASUU have failed woefully, for them to have suspended this strike. The APC led govt. have seen that if they carried this strike to the election it would affect them seriously so they came up with the strategy of coming through the speaker. Where have they been since eight months ago. I expected ASUU to stand on their ground with the election coming govt. would have bowed to them but they got deceived by Gbajabiamila. If by next year ASUU come up with the issue of pool the whole thingstrike agaain Nigerians will condemn you, as for this very strike Nigerians were behind you but you have s
GO BACK TO SCHOOL AND STOP COMPLAINING.
WHAT ABOUT THE STUDENTS THAT WILL BE PAYING FOR FRESH ACCOMMODATION THINGS THE HAVE PAID FOR BEFORE.
ASUU ONLY CARE ABOUT THEMSELVES WHO WILL COMPASATE THE STUDENTS AND HOW ?
Government try and pay lectures if not lectures go back to strike again is good 8month salary
This ASUU Chairman is just too wicked for his comment. Are they on strike? Are these same lecturers that were teaching in Private Universities? Can’t Govt stop them from engaging in two or more lecturing Job?
Too bad for them (lecturers) honestly this government have failed us. God will the lecturers so that they will help the student