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Sack Threat ASUU Dares FG
L-R: Chairman, Forte Oil, Mr Femi Otedola, former Senate President, Senator Ken Nnamani and CBN Governor, Malam Sanusi Lamido Sanusi, during a break-out session at the 15th meeting of the Honorary International Investors Council in London, recently.
Photo: NAN
The Federal Government yesterday ordered the Academic Staff Union of Universities to reopen the institutions within one week or get sacked.
The supervising Minister of Education, Barr. Nyesom Wike, disclosed this at a press briefing in Abuja.
He described the ongoing varsity teachers’ strike as “act of sabotage.”
“The continuation of the strike despite several meetings, especially with President Goodluck Jonathan is an attempt by the union to sabotage all efforts by government to address the issue,” he said.
Wike stated that government had directed that all Vice Chancellors of federal universities that are currently on strike should immediately reopen for academic and allied activities.
ASUU embarked on the strike on July 1 to protest government’s non-implementation of the 2009 agreement signed by both parties.
The minister disclosed that government had met all its commitments and obligations with respect to the agreement.
According to Wike, government took the decision to reopen the universities following ASUU’s new conditions which are “not tenable. “
His words: “On November 4, 2013 President Goodluck Jonathan met with ASUU executive, labour union leaders from the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) and the Trade Union Congress (TUC), where all the issues were resolved and firm commitments made to address the lingering crisis.
“It is noteworthy that Mr. President’s gesture was more than sufficient to guarantee the commitment of government to address all issues raised at the meeting with Mr. President. At the end of the meeting, the ASUU team promised to convene a meeting of its National Executive Committee to present the resolutions reached and report back by Friday, November 8, 2013. It is unfortunate that while travelling to attend the NEC meeting in Kano, we lost a key member and former President of the union, Prof. Festus Iyayi.
“Government sympathizes with the family of the late Iyayi and ASUU. It is however amazing that three weeks after the meeting with Mr. President, ASUU responded by giving new conditions for suspending the five month old strike. I have never seen anywhere in any country where you sit down with Mr. President. That is the highest level of discussion. If you cannot believe Mr. President, then who else will you believe?”
“Any academic staff who fails to resume on or before December 4 automatically ceases to be a staff of the institution. Vice-Chancellors are also directed to advertise vacancies (internal and external) in their institutions. The National Universities Commission is hereby directed to monitor the compliance of these directives by the various institutions. The Federal Government has met all its commitments and obligations with respect to the FG/ASUU 2009 Agreement. We appeal to all stakeholders to appreciate the position of government which is in the best interest of our dear country.”
The Academic Staff Union of Universities condemned the Minister over his comments that the union was making new “outrageous” demands, describing it as a lie.
The union said it had only asked President Goodluck Jonathan to facilitate the endorsement of resolutions reached with him and to also be signed by a top government official preferably the Attorney-General of the Federation but not a Permanent Secretary.
National Treasurer of ASUU, Dr. Ademola Aremu, stated the position of the union while speaking in Ibadan last Wednesday. Aremu praised the intervention of Jonathan but pointed out that some of the resolutions reached with him were not contained in the letter sent to the union.
ASUU said its representative and President of Nigeria Labour Congress should stand as witnesses when the document was to be signed.
The union added that it wanted the N200bn agreed as 2013 revitalisation fund for public universities to be kept with the Central Bank of Nigeria and disbursed to the benefiting universities.
Aremu said Wike should have told Nigerians that apart from the N30bn earned allowances released for university staff, the government had yet to release any other fund.
He said, “We are not making fresh demands. In fact, the National Executive Council of the union would have suspended the strike but the concern of our congresses is that many of the things agreed with the President, during the November 4 meeting, were not included in the letter signed by a Permanent Secretary in the Federal Ministry of Education, Dr. Mark Nwobiala.”
He promised that the strike would end as soon as the omissions were corrected in the new resolution.
ASUU said it was evident now that the Federal Government was not ready to implement any resolutions it reached with the union.
“It is a pity if the federal government is not willing to perfect the resolutions reached with the union. This is why we find it difficult to trust our leaders by their words. How can someone be threatening to sack lecturers when universities are already short-staffed by almost 60,000. We are not in military era. The military tried it and failed, this one will fail again”, ASUU said.
ASUU chairman, Dr. Clement Chup of UniAbuja Chapter, said the union dared the Federal Government to sack its members over the prolonged universities’ strike.
He said in a telephone interview that “the school can go ahead and ask students to resume but we won’t do any work; we won’t teach them. It is not our responsibility to resume until ASUU decides. “We’re not afraid of that (sack). He (Education Minister) can go to the motor park to recruit lecturers that will lecture the students. You can now see the insincerity of some people in government.
We told the government when we met that we’re ready to suspend the strike once we’re able to clarify some issues in our agreements with them. But they went ahead without clarifying those issues at stake. We dare them to sack us,” Dr. Clement Chup said.
In his reaction, Chairman, University of Lagos branch of ASUU, Dr. Oghenekaro Ogbinaka said that the development was strange and laughable.
He said that this was so considering the fact that the union was yet to get back to the government, after their deliberations with President Goodluck Jonathan.
“Our reaction is simple. Let us just wait for the seven days to come around.” What government has just done shows that they were not committed in the offer they made with the union that had the Trade Union Congress President and the Minister of Labour in attendance,” he said.
Immediate past Dean, Faculty of Law, University of Lagos, Prof. Oyelowo Oyewo simply described the development as “a glorified joke and laughable”.
Oyewo noted that it was funny that one of the parties which had before now been holding dialogue, would try to intimidate the other.
Also commenting on the directive, Head of Department of Political Science, Obafemi Awolowo University, Ile-Ife, Prof. Sat Obiyan said that the ultimatum was not the best approach to resolving the issue.
The Coordinator of Education Right Campaign (ERC), Mr Hassan Soweto, said that the ultimatum would only worsen the problem, noting that it was against the principle of public bargaining.
“What ASUU wants is some level of commitment from the Federal Government before it will suspend the strike. “It is not right for the government to use force in a democracy,” he said.
A student of Lagos State University, Ojo, Mr. Agbomeji Ibrahim urged the Federal Government not to be authoritative by giving lecturers one week to return to classes or face sack.
Ibrahim urged the Federal Government to be more sensitive in its decision and pleaded that ASUU should also have a rethink as the strike was old enough to be called off.
“The Federal Government must be careful, logical and realistic in its decision, because of the importance of the sector. “Both the Government and ASUU need to accommodate each other on the negotiation table because both parties cannot get all their demands and must be ready to shift grounds,” Ibrahim said.
Chairman of ASUU at the University of Nigeria, Nsukka, Dr Ifeanyichukwu Abada, said lecturers were not worried by the return-to-work order by the federal government.
Abada said in Nsukka that the union was not dealing with the minister who gave the order but with President Goodluck Jonathan.
“It is unfortunate that the minister thinks that he can use his office to threaten lecturers. The December 4 ultimatum to lecturers to resume work or risk being sacked cannot work,” Abada said.
He said it was unfortunate that rather than pursue amicable resolution of the crisis, the minister was issuing a ‘military order’.
Nigerians were among more than 140 residents injured after Iran launched multiple ballistic missiles and unmanned aerial vehicles at the United Arab Emirates, at the weekend.
This raised fresh fears for thousands of Nigerians living and working in the Gulf nation.
The UAE Ministry of Defence disclosed last Saturday that its air defence systems intercepted several missiles and drones fired from Iran, describing the attack as a major escalation in the ongoing regional tensions.
In a statement posted on its official X handle, the ministry said its air defence units engaged nine ballistic missiles and 33 drones during the latest assault on March 14.
It added that the attacks left six people dead and 141 others injured, including foreign nationals.
“The UAE air defence systems on March 14 engaged nine ballistic missiles and 33 UAVs launched from Iran,” the ministry stated.
“Since the onset of this blatant Iranian aggression, UAE air defences have engaged 294 ballistic missiles, 15 cruise missiles, and 1,600 UAVs launched from Iran,” UAE added.
According to the ministry, those killed in the attacks included citizens of the UAE as well as foreign nationals from Pakistan, Nepal and Bangladesh.
“Although the authorities did not specify the exact locations where the casualties occurred, the ministry said the injured victims were from several countries, including Nigeria.
Others affected include residents from Egypt, Sudan, Ethiopia, the Philippines, Pakistan, Iran, India, Bangladesh and Sri Lanka.
The list also included Azerbaijan, Yemen, Uganda, Eritrea, Lebanon, Afghanistan, Bahrain, Comoros, Türkiye, Iraq, Nepal, Oman, Jordan, Palestine, Ghana, Indonesia and Sweden.
The Tide reports that this development has sparked concern among Nigerian communities in the UAE, where thousands of citizens live and work in sectors such as construction, hospitality, logistics and trade.
Data from Nigeria’s diaspora commission shows that the UAE remains one of the largest destinations for Nigerian migrants in the Middle East, particularly in the emirates of Dubai, Abu Dhabi and Sharjah.
The Nigerian government had in recent years raised concerns over the safety and welfare of its citizens in the country following diplomatic tensions and visa restrictions affecting Nigerians.
Saturday’s attacks have now heightened anxieties within the diaspora community, especially as the Gulf region faces growing military confrontations.
In its statement, the UAE Ministry of Defence said the country remained fully prepared to confront any threats to its security.
“The Ministry of Defence remains fully prepared and ready to deal with any threats and will firmly confront any attempts to undermine state security in a manner that ensures the protection of its sovereignty, security and stability, and safeguards its national interests and capabilities,” the ministry said.
In a separate update, the ministry noted that its defence systems were still actively intercepting missiles and drones.
“UAE air defences are dealing with Iranian ballistic and cruise missiles and drones,” it said.
Regional media reports indicate that the attacks form part of a wider escalation of hostilities between Iran and Western-backed forces in the Middle East.
According to Al Jazeera, Iran has continued sustained missile and drone strikes across the Gulf despite protests from neighbouring states.
The strikes were said to be in retaliation for military operations launched by the United States and Israel against Iranian positions in the region.
Tehran targeted several Gulf countries, including Saudi Arabia, Qatar and the UAE, late on Friday and into Saturday.
The attacks also caused infrastructural damage in parts of the UAE.
Meanwhile, Iran’s elite military wing, the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, warned that US interests in the UAE would remain legitimate targets.
Iranian state media reported that the group issued the warning after US forces attacked Iranian-controlled islands.
The IRGC specifically mentioned ports, docks and military installations linked to the United States as potential targets.
It also urged residents in the UAE to evacuate areas around ports and military facilities to avoid civilian casualties.
Security analysts say the growing exchange of threats and strike across the Gulf could destabilise the region’s economic and aviation activities if the conflict escalates further.
Nigeria’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs has yet to issue an official statement on the incident as of the time of filing this report.
Rivers State Governor, Sir Siminalayi Fubara, has charged the five new commissioners sworn-in last Wednesday to put in their best for the development of the State.
Fubara gave the charge during the swearing-in of the commissioners at the Executive Council Chambers of the Government House, Port Harcourt, last Wednesday.
This followed the successful screening of the five commissioners by the Rivers State House of Assembly, last Tuesday.
The five commissioners are Tonye Bellgam, Prof. Temple Nwofor, Dr. Peters Nwagor, Mr. Lekue Kenneth, and Sir Amairigha Edward Hart.
The Tide reports that the governor had sent nine commissioner-nominees to the Assembly for screening, but the Assembly confirmed only five nominees and rejected the nomination of four over various allegations.
Those rejected by the Assembly are Prof. Dantonye Alasia, Mrs. Charity Demua, Mr. Tamuno Williams, and Otonye Amachree.
The governor congratulated the new commissioners on their appointment, noting that their thorough screening by the Rivers State House of Assembly was a proof of their capabilities.
He urged them to deploy their wealth of experience in various fields and put the State on a fast lane of development.
“Ordinarily, I am supposed to charge you on your responsibilities and how to operate. But that has been taken care of by the screening at the Assembly.
“I believe that going through one of the most rigorous screenings, it is enough to say that for those of you who succeeded, you are fit and ready to deliver to our dear State.
“So there is no further charge. The screening was the charge, so I wish you the best as I don’t expect anything less than the best from you,” Fubara said.
The Nigerian Navy has intensified its crackdown on crude oil theft and illegal bunkering, destroying a reactivated illegal refinery site in Rivers State and intercepting suspected stolen petroleum products in Calabar, Cross River State.
The Director of Naval Information, Capt Abiodun Folorunsho, disclosed this in a statement released in Abuja, yesterday.
Folorunsho said personnel of the Nigerian Navy Ship SOROH, operating under Operation DELTA SENTINEL, destroyed a reactivated illegal refinery site at Okolomade Community in Abua-Odual Local Government Area of Rivers State.
He said the action followed credible intelligence that a previously dismantled illegal refining site had resumed operations.
According to him, an Anti–Crude Oil Theft team deployed to the location discovered that the dismantled refining oven had been reconstructed.
“Further exploitation of the area led to the discovery of additional refining equipment and storage facilities containing about 3,000 litres of product suspected to be illegally refined Automotive Gas Oil (AGO),” he said.
Folorunsho added that the illegal refining infrastructure, including ovens, storage tanks, hoses, connected pipes and newly acquired metal components used for illegal refining, was destroyed in line with operational procedures.
He said personnel of the Nigerian Navy Ship Victory, in another operation, intercepted about 3,950 litres of suspected stolen petroleum products at the Nigerian Ports Authority area in Calabar, Cross River State.
He said the interception was based on credible intelligence on suspected siphoning of petroleum products from vessels berthed at the port.
The naval patrol team, according to him, swiftly deployed to the area and traced the illegally siphoned products to a trailer park within the port facility.
“On sighting the naval patrol team, the suspected perpetrators fled the scene, after which the area was cordoned off and the illegally siphoned products secured,” he said.
Folorunsho said further inspection led to the recovery of about 3,950 litres of Automotive Gas Oil stored in drums and jerrycans, which had been evacuated to the naval base for further necessary action in line with extant regulations.
He noted that the successes aligned with the directive of the Chief of the Naval Staff, Vice Adm. Idi Abbas, to intensify operations against crude oil theft and other maritime crimes across Nigeria’s maritime domain.
Folorunsho reiterated the Navy’s commitment to sustaining the operational tempo of Operation DELTA SENTINEL through intensified surveillance, patrols and intelligence-driven operations aimed at combating crude oil theft, illegal bunkering and other forms of economic sabotage.
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