NANS President, Comrade Sunday Asefon in a statement on Thursday in Abuja, described the adamant position of ASUU on payment of salary areas as a basis for suspension of the strike as selfish, inconsiderate and insensitive.
He equally called on all the State Governors to ensure that all their State-owned Universities are open, clarifying that a state university would not be a beneficiary of ASUU demand from the federal government as governors are responsible for the funding of their state universities.
Asefon noted that since the commencement of the ongoing ASUU strike, the National Association of Nigerian Students (NANS) under his watch had advocated in favour of ASUU, including directing students’ protests, advocacy, and struggles against the Federal Government, requesting the government to accede to the demands of the strike lecturers.
He added that students also supported ASUU’s demand for earned allowance, revitalization funds for tertiary institutions, and the adoption of the Universities Transparency and Accountability Solution (UTAS) platform for the payment of university lecturers against the Federal Government’s insistence on Integrated Personnel Payroll and Information System (IPPIS).
“We had rejected the Minister of Education’s suggestion that students hold ASUU responsible and seek legal compensation for liabilities suffered as a result of the strike.
“We have supported them this far because we believed those demands are just and reasonable.
“We condemn in totality, the insistence of ASUU on the payment of the six months arrears of salaries for the entire period of the strike before they can call off the strike.
“This demand is not only insensitive; it is also selfish, inconsiderate, and uncharitable. The six months are periods of no work. As much as we encourage the government to pay their arrears irrespective, it is unfair to base the resumption of academic activities on full payment of the arrears.
“We have also, unfortunately, noticed that since the beginning of the strike, ASUU had refused to put the students who are the major losers into consideration whatsoever. They have hidden from us the major areas of contention. Every other stakeholder, except ASUU, has met with us directly to discuss the issues.
“ASUU had masqueraded some of their interests as the interest of tertiary education in Nigeria, and at some point masqueraded their interest as the interest of the students. We know that ASUU is less concerned about the interest of the students because of our experiences with them at our various tertiary institutions.
“University authorities have used ASUU members and leaders to expel, suspend and rusticate students for merely protesting for improved welfare. They expel and rusticate students for protesting for basic needs such as water, power, habitable hostel accommodation, etc. At some time, their anti-students actions are so reckless that you continue to wonder if these lecturers even understand the right to dissent.
“ASUU members arbitrarily fail students for questioning their positions or opinion and sometimes asking too many questions. These same people cannot suddenly turn around to claim they are fighting for our interest, our interest they trample upon at every given opportunity at our various tertiary institutions.
“We believe that if the government has met substantially major areas of their demand, ASUU should tread the path of honour by calling off the strike.
“We no longer believe that this continuous strike is fashionable, reasonable, justifiable, and necessary. If the Federal Government has acceded to most of the requests that necessitated the strike in the first place, the continuation of the strike means there may be other ulterior motives not known to the public and the students and we will no longer continue to support ASUU to hold the nation and tertiary education ransom.
“Demanding six-month salary arrears before calling off the strike just like kidnappers demand their ransom before releasing their victim.
“The rule of law is the touchstone of a civilized society. If ASUU leadership and its members are insisting that their six months salary that they’ve been on strike be paid as against section 43 of the Trade Disputes Act which maintains that striking workers are not entitled to their remunerations, who is going to pay the students for their six months house rent and other expenses?
“We demand an immediate end to this strike, as we encourage the government to fulfil all their promises to ASUU in good faith.
“Our interest is an end to the incessant strike in our tertiary intuitions and nothing more”.