Human rights activist, Femi Falana, has stated that the ongoing industrial action by the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) can be resolved immediately, but the government isn’t making any effort to do so, IgbereTV reports
Falana in an interview with news men on Friday said that “if the government listens to ASUU all the strikes are avoidable.”
ASUU embarked on an initial four weeks strike on 14 February, demanding the government to honour the agreements it had entered with the union.
After several meetings without resolution, ASUU continued to extend its strike by a certain period until 29 August when it extended the strike indefinitely.
Despite Justice Polycarp Hamman Wednesday’s ruling, ordering the lecturers to call off the strike, ASUU’s President, Professor Victor Osodeke said that the lecturers won’t go back to work and would appeal the injunction.
“It is about funding… in 1992, ASUU convinced the government that employers of labour should pay education tax because those trained by the government are employed by employers.
“All the government says is we have no money, but the same administration, this year alone, increased fuel subsidy from 443 billion Naira to 4 trillion Naira and we are now being told that before the end of the year may metamorphose into 6.3 trillion.”
“So where are you getting such money to fund waste and fraud but when it comes to education you say you have no money, I think these are some of the issues,” he said
