Academic Staff Union of Universities ASUU Gombe State University GSU and Federal University Kashere FUK in Gombe State yesterday faulted what they described as casualisation of Nigerian Universities Academic by the federal government.
In two separate protests held at the campuses of both institutions, the placard carrying lecturers called on the federal government to allow reason to prevail and in resolving the lingering crisis.
Their placards read “don’t kill the goose that lays the golden egg,” “teachers are not beggars pay us our entitlement,”ASUU rejects casualisation of academy” among others
The two ASUU bodies led by their Chairmen, Dr. Suleman Salihu Jauro and Dr. Shehu El Rasheed of GSU and FUK in Gombe held separate press conferences on their campuses to address journalists on the development.
In GSU, Dr. Jauro said the federal government has squandered the goodwill of the union by the irresponsible attempt to casualise the job of Nigerian academics through the so called pro-rata payment of October salaries of lecturers.
“Nothing could demonstrate the government lack of desire for a stable and virile university system than the devilish payment of pro-rata salaries,” he said.
He however said that the union has chosen to remain calm and not to pay government in its own coin.
He added that the union understand that the agents of Private and foreign universities and their collaborators in government are determined to force the children of the masses in the public universities into either patronizing private universities or drop-out.
Similarly, FUK ASUU Chairman, Dr. Shehu El-rasheed said witholding salaries of the lecturers for seven months is not only diversionary but wickedness on the part of the agents of the federal government.
He said this was designed to jeopardize efforts of ASUU members to from pursuing legitimate demands of the union aimed at members welfare and funding of public universities.
“Release of witheld salaries is not in the list of the union’s demands but rather an attempt by the agents of government to misinform and divert public attention from the issues,” he said.
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