Minister’s threat to sack ASUU members uncalled for – REP

MInority Chief Whip in the House of Representatives, Mr. Samson Osagie, has described the recent threat by the Supervising Minister of Education, Mr. Nyeson Wike, to sack  members of the Academic Staff Union of Universities, ASUU, as "uncalled for."

This came as a group, Coalition to Save Nigeria, CSN, said it was wicked for the Federal Government to issue ultimatum to ASUU when the remains of the late former President of the union, Professor Festus Iyayi, were yet to be buried.

Osagie, who spoke with journalists in Benin, said the utterances by the Minister were capable of worsening the crisis.

He also insisted that the recent development in the polity would not threaten the current leadership in the House of Representatives.

He said: "It is unfortunate that our universities have to be shut down for this long period of time. It is not healthy for our educational system and it is going to have a monumental impact on our education as a country. I also do not expect the kind of threat that the Minister of Education is carrying out but at the same time we must all put the interest of this country above every other interest.  I just hope that they should work out these issues as quickly as possible.

Both sides have their shortcomings but I believe we must do things in order to ensure that our students are back at school because they have almost forgotten that they are students in the universities and that is not healthy for us

"I am quite disappointed at the way things are going and I pray earnestly because all our children are feeling the impact. The recent from the minister of education is uncalled for and I believe that it only has the capacity to worsen the situation.

"But at the same time I also believe that ASUU should re-strategize so that it can devise other means of settling industrial disputes. I accept their arguments of better funding for our universities because they are in comatose, but I believe that strikes are not the only legitimate way to demand for change and that it is the right time to re-strategize."

Resumption order is wicked —CSN

In a statement, the National Coordinator of CSN, Dr Philip Ugbodaga, said: " We consider this resumption order to be wicked, callous, reckless and extremely uncaring.  I am aware that the burial ceremonies for the late Iyayi commences about the same period. So the reported resumption order is carefully calculated to embarrass ASUU members, cow them to submission and prevent them from paying their last respect to a hero of the Nigerian revolutionary struggle.

"The greatest disservice to Iyayi would be this contemplated Federal Governments' whimsical manipulation of his unfortunate demise to deal a blow on ASUU's resolve to settle, once and for all, the problems in the ivory tower that have remained unresolved for several decades."