The Nasarawa State government’s owned Isa Mustapha Agwai Polytechnic, Lafia, has joined the two-week warning strike declared by the national body of the Academic Staff Union of Polytechnics, to press home its demands for better welfare.
Chairman of the union in the polytechnic, Silvester Aku, made the disclosure while speaking with newsmen in Lafia on Tuesday.
He explained that the strike was in compliance with the directive by the ASUP national headquarters in line with the decision reached at the National Executive Council meeting of the union held recently in Abuja.
Aku said the action, which became unavoidable, was due to the failure of the Federal Government to meet the demands of the union as contained in the Memorandum of Action signed in 2021.
He said, “The union had embarked on strike sometime in 2021 but suspended it after President Muhammadu Buhari approved N15 billion as part of revitalisation funds.
“But unfortunately, the government failed to release the approved funds and they also failed to address other issues. So, the union was left with no choice but to speak the language that they would understand better.”
The chairman said academic staff at the polytechnic have complied with the directive in its entirety and would continue to stay away from their offices until further directives from the ASUP headquarters.
On the welfare of their members at the Isa Mustapha Agwai Polytechnic, Lafia, the chairman said they do not have office accommodation as required at the polytechnic by regulating bodies because “Chief lecturers who are supposed to have their own offices are sharing with other lecturers.”
The ASUP chairman also used the opportunity to appeal to the state governor, Abdullahi Sule, to implement the outstanding promotions of its members from 2018 to date among other welfare issues in order to motivate them for better productivity.
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