Peter Obi, a candidate for the Labour Party nomination for president, has bemoaned the impact of the Academic Staff Union of Universities’ prolonged strike on students and higher education in the nation.
In response to what ASUU termed as the government’s “failure” to meet its demands, the union went on strike on February 14.
The demands include paying earned allowances, giving colleges funding for revitalization, setting up visiting panels, and using the University Transparency Accountability Solution to pay ivory tower employees rather than the Integrated Payroll and Personnel Information System.
A committee led by Prof. Nimi Briggs was established by the government to examine the 2009 ASUU-FG agreement and the union’s demands.
Read Also: ASUU Strike: FG To Meet Federal Universities Stakeholders September 6
On August 30, 2023, ASUU declared a total and indefinite strike. The decision was taken at a meeting of the union’s National Executive Council held on Sunday in Abuja.
Reacting to the ongoing strike in a tweet on his Twitter handle on Wednesday, Peter Obi said universities have been closed for six months.
He lamented what he described as a ‘staggering corruption’ level in Nigeria, adding that the country has also been polarised along religious and ethnic lines.
Peter Obi wrote;
Nigeria is vastly polarized and wracked by deep divisions along religious, ethnic and regional lines. There is a staggering level of corruption. Our universities have remained closed for six months.
While our healthcare system remains almost moribund, power generation and distribution are also at an all-time low.
Our position is that ASUU strike has lingered for far too long. It is unconscionable, worrisome and unacceptable that FGN would allow such an industrial action to become almost intractable to the detriment of our students.
It’s time for FGN to engage in collaborative negotiations with ASUU, and in good faith. -PO
Our position is that ASUU strike has lingered for far too long. It is unconscionable, worrisome and unacceptable that FGN would allow such an industrial action to become almost intractable to the detriment of our students.
— Peter Obi (@PeterObi) August 31, 2022