Professor Emmanuel Osodeke, the National President of the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU), has empathised with University students during the prolonged strike by the Union.
Osodeke has made this known during an interview that was held in Ota on Thursday, May 26.
He was responding to the N34 billion disclosed by the federal government for the payment of the lowest wage consequential adjustment.
As per the reports that ASUU has been on strike since February 14 due to improved welfare packages, enhanced working conditions and the initiation of various labour agreements that were signed with the federal government between 2009 and 2020.
He further stated that the students were suffering for the future of Nigeria as well as the educational system.
The ASUU president has also stated that the students were not being punished but were paying the price to assure that Nigeria had a better education system.
Osodeke stated, “ASUU empathises with them, and we believe that with what is going on if we persist with the struggle, we will have an education system where Nigerian students will have the same lecture rooms with their foreign companions.”
The ASUU president stated that there was no requirement to call the strike off when the federal government had not accepted their demands.
Therefore, he called upon the federal government to do as required as the N34 billion given was not part of their demands.
As per the reports, that the federal government had on Tuesday released N34 billion for the payment of significant adjustment for the minimum wage of workers in the education system.
Earlier also, the national leaders of ASUU as well as JAC of SSANU and NASU, Prof Emmanuel Osodeke and Mr Mohammed Ibrahim, respectively, informed that the Federal Government and all stakeholders in the education sector and religious authorities had a meeting with the four unions, but no strong agreements were reached.
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