The Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) has said that it is not ready to call off the current strike if the Federal Government does not address its demands. The ASUU President made this known while speaking at the University of Port Harcourt (UNIPORT).
According to him, students would be the major beneficiaries of the demands and urged them to support the demands as they are genuine and in the interest of the nation.
He said: “Students who are our children and partners in progress should show understanding. What we are asking from the government is in their interest and the interest of the nation: good hostel accommodation, good classroom blocks that can engender effective learning, laboratories where cutting-edge researches can be carried out and offices that can drive the process of quality university education.
“So, what we are asking of the government are not baseless things but things that in 2012, the government conducted during a NEEDS assessment survey and found out that there were widespread rot and decay in the university system. We are asking that the government implement its own report of 2012.”
Ogunyemi regretted that university lecturers were still receiving the same salary scale of 2009 in 2020; whereas the 2009 agreement we had with the government stipulates that that agreement would be reviewed every three years. He added that if such issues are not addressed, the strike would continue.
