The President, National Association of Nigerian Students, Sunday Asefon, on Sunday urged politicians across the country to, as a matter of urgency, either ensure an end to the strike of the Academic Staff Union of Universities or forget their party conventions billed for the Federal Capital Territory this month.
Asefon, who said NANS had given mediators time to prevail on the Federal Government to resolve issues with ASUU and ensure students resumed to their different campuses, stated, “But it seems all mediation plans have failed. Politicians have shown no concern for the plight of the students, but are rather busy with their selfish and inordinate ambitions to become the next President.”
The NANS President, in a statement made available in Ado Ekiti titled, ‘End ASUU strike or forget political activities in Abuja’, said, “We have also in the past weeks seen those saddled with great responsibility in the education sector and those saddled with responsibilities of resolving labour crises declare interests to contest for the seat of the president come 2023.
“We are surprised by their effrontery and total disrespect to the Nigeria people for having the courage to even mute the idea of contesting, much more picking up the N100m presidential form while students languish at home because of their (leaders’) collective failures.
“Let me say without mincing words that the two major political parties (All Progressives Congress and Peoples Democratic Party) should forget any political gathering in Abuja or elsewhere except there is a solution to the lingering ASUU strike.
“We will frustrate all the activities leading to selection of party candidates if ASUU remains on strike. We also want to advise the government and the politicians who are busy campaigning to be president to either resolve the ASUU crisis or give direct orders to the security operative to shoot us on sight during party conventions to select presidential candidates. If ASUU remains on strike, they should just forget it.”
This is just as the National Human Rights Commission urged the Federal Government to expedite action to resolve the current impasse with ASUU so as not to further endanger the right to education of the university students who have lost an academic year as a result of the unfortunate strike.
In a statement issued by the organisation’s Deputy Director of Public Affairs, Fatimah Mohammed, the commission’s Executive Secretary, Tony Ojukwu( SAN), requested that the FG should invite ASUU members back to the negotiating table.
According to Ojukwu, the majority of ASUU’s demands are legitimate.
He stated, “The demands of ASUU are genuine; the allowances, improved facilities and infrastructures are not in any way bogus expectations that cannot be taken care of, considering the positive effects these will have on our universities.
“Incessant ASUU strike has continued to constitute a major threat to the right to education of students of our tertiary institutions, especially the public universities where the greater population of our youth attend.”
Meanwhile, the senator representing Kaduna Central Senatorial District and an All Progressives Congress governorship aspirant in the state, Uba Sani, has asked the FG and ASUU to return to the negotiating table for amicable resolution of the strike.
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