ASUU to Ngige, AGF: Your statements are reckless

The Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) on Wednesday lashed out at the Minister of Labour and Employment, Dr Chris Ngige, and the secretary to the government of federation, Boss Mustapha, saying their statements that lecturers were sitting at home playing Ludo are reckless and uncharitable.

The Union stated that the arrogance of the Buhari administration is manifested through the unclipped mouths of his Ministers.

Minister of Labour and Employment, Dr Ngige had reportedly asked ASUU to suspend its ongoing strike as precondition for renegotiating ASUU/FGN agreements, saying the lecturers were sitting at home playing Ludo games when they are supposed to be doing research on how to solve COVID-19 pandemic.

ASUU in a release signed by the Ibadan Zonal Coordinator of the Union Professor Ade Adejumo stated that in a clime of responsible governance and leadership, the government will be making moves to meet the demands of the Union to get the strike suspended.

According to the Union, the members of the Union have been making giant inventions and playing frontline role in the fight against COVID-19 even when they have to contribute their money to develop ventilators because they have “irresponsible government that has refused to fund and invest in research.”

Adejumo stated that in a saner clime, people like Ngige would have resigned or become ex-Minister as a conciliator general of a government that lacks the will to honor Memorandum of Actions (MoAs) signed with the Union.

ASUU maintained that the Pandemic has exposed the wickedness of the leadership of Nigeria who votes eight percent of her 2020 budget to education as against 26 percent prescribed by UNICEF.

On the accusation against ASUU by the Accountant General of the Federation, ASUU declared that the accountant general should be bold enough to account for the corruption surrounding the IIPIS as exposed by the Union.

It maintained that AGF is boasting on trampling of the university Autonomy Act by forcefully enrolling her members into the fraudulent platform.

The Union asked the AGF to invite EFCC to arrest those who supplied fictitious names to the IPPIS stating that members of the Union do not prepare salaries nor work in Bursary department of institutions.