[dropcap]T[/dropcap]he closure of Nigerian Universities by the federal government for some months was not just as a result of the effects of globally ravaging Covid-19 pandemic, but the 23th March 2020 industrial dispute declared by the Academic Staff Union of Universities which coincided with pandemic effects, hence the closure of universities in Nigeria.Dr. Austin Sado Chairman Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU), University of Port Harcourt chapter in exclusive chat at the ASUU Secretariat Complex at Delta Park Unipot, said that ASUU engaged in strike before federal government announcement of the lockdown for the Covid-19 pandemic.
”The schools resumption announcement of the federal government is a policy statement. Because the federal government shut down schools says they closed universities as result of COVID-19, and now they think those institutions are safe to reopen, that has nothing to with the strike of Academic Staff Union of Universities”.
”ASSU did not have powers for the mandate to announce closures or resumption of schools. On the 23rd of March, there was an industrial dispute declared, the Union withdrew its service, and the Union has been on strike since then” he posited.
Dr. Sado maintained that because federal government has remained adamant to the complaints of the Lectures hence they continue with their strike despite the schools resumption announcement by the federal government.
”We are still on strike, even when schools resumption is announced, and students are back in the campus, it does not change anything. We expect that government will create time to engage the Union to discuss the way and means of dealing with the conflict which emanated from that 23rd of March”
On the federal government announcement that there no retreat on the Integrated Payroll and Personnel Information System (IPPIS) decision, the ASUU Unipot chapter chairman stressed that IPPIS was a diversion by federal government to portray ASSU in bad light of been against the anti corruption campaign in the country.
”IPPIS has never been a case as far as we are concerned. IPPIS ended in 2013 when there was an agreement that IPPIS in its present state can not function in the Universities. Government brought IPPIS as distraction to confuse Nigerians and to get them belief that ASSU was resisting the fight against corruption. What we did by taken up the mandate to develop alternative software of Universities Transparency and Accountable Solution (UTAS) a patriotic contributions to the development of this country. We have submitted it to government. Its expected that government will certify and begin to use it.
Dr. Austin Sado further averred that apart from UTAS there are other pressing issues that needed to highlighted and settled.
”Even when government begins to use the UTAS it will not ameliorate the consequences of the strike because, we have issues of revitalization funds for the university, the renegotiation of 2009 agreement, the proliferation of universities by state governments. And issues of governance in those universities, the mainstreaming of earn Academic Allowance, the payments of outstanding earn academic allowances of Lecturers in Nigerian Universities. These are all issues government has entered into agreement in a memoranda of action in February 2019 which has set out timeline for its implementation. Government has not kept fate with that document until that happens, nothing will help to change the strike” he affirmed.