FG Bribes Our Members in an Attempt to Break the Strike – ASUU

The Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) has accused the Federal Government of taking money round campuses to influence some lecturers to abandon the 155-day long strike embarked upon by the union.
Appearing on a TV programme, Mr. Karo Ogbinaka, the Chairman of the University of Lagos chapter of ASUU, said the union was aware that some agents of the government have been going round the campuses to influence lecturers to abandon the strike.
"Government is just changing its tactics by bribing members to break the strike. That won't resolve the issue. Rather than address the issue, they are attempting to break the strike," Mr. Ogbinaka said.
He further noted that the move to break the ranks of the lecturers by influencing them with money will fail.
The leader of UNILAG ASUU also blasted FG for allegedly sponsoring market women to protest against the striking lecturers. Ogbinaka said the
move will ultimately fail because the lecturers are resolute.
It would be noted that the congress scheduled by the union at UNILAG for December 2, 2013, Monday, was shifted for the following day.
The union asked parents to keep their
children at home pending the resolution of the dispute between the government and the lecturers.

• ASUU LATEST: Presidency Blasts ASUU
The Federal Government said at the
weekend that its decision to sack the
striking lecturers was informed by the
stance of the Academic Staff Union of
Universities (ASUU) to get its demand in one fell swoop.
Senior Special Assistant to the President on Public Affairs, Dr. Doyin Okupe, told reporters in Abuja that it was wrong "for a party to a dispute to
come to the table with an "all or none"
mentality".
Okupe regretted that ASUU leadership has remained recalcitrant, despite President Goodluck Jonathan's strenous commitment to the resolution of the crisis which he said informed his
involvement in the last meeting with the striking lecturers, even as the opposition All Progressives Congress (APC) slammed the government for
threatening the lecturers with sack.
"In our present case, coming to negotiations as ASUU has done with this mindset, betrays a lack of understanding on the part of the body's
leadership that the nation and the government are a continuum.
"Having said that, Nigerians expected that the direct involvement of President Goodluck Jonathan who sat for 13 hours in the meeting was the high mark of the crisis, which ought to have provided the final resolution to the crisis.
"The meeting with President Jonathan ended with a definite agreement and resolutions acceptable to the ASUU leadership.
"The leadership of ASUU was expected to consult with its members nationwide and report back to government within one week, and call off the strike, all other things being equal.
"The ASUU leadership rather than take its responsibility seriously, wasted seven days before scheduling a meeting. When the meeting eventually held the leadership decided to thwart
and undemocratically override the expressed will of majority of its chapters to call off the strike.
This action is contrary to established practice and procedure of any democratic labour institution,
which ASUU is expected to be.
"The ASUU leadership refused to accede to the wishes of 42 of its 61 chapters nationwide, who voted in favour of the agreement with the President and the calling off of the strike; but in a surprise volte face presented government again with a new set of demands and considerations
outside the terms agreed at the presidential intervention.
"This is why we make bold to state that there is absolutely nothing dictatorial, draconian or undemocratic in the order by the Federal Government for striking lecturers to return to work or face dismissal. You may wish to recall that
on August 5, 1981, Ronald Reagan then
American President, sacked 11, 345 Air Traffic Controllers after a two-day . Reagan took the
decision after the striking workers turned down an 11 per cent wage increase he had offered them. Here in Nigeria, our labour laws contain
sufficient provisions that give the right to hire and fire to the employer.