Ogbonnaya Ikokwu, Umuahia
The Academic staff union of Universities Prof Emmanuel Osodeke, the Asuu President has berated the Federal government for been her lackadaisical towards the welfare of Asuu members and Nigerians at large.
He expressed worry over the collapse of almost all government institutions in the country and attributed that to the poor leadership of the federal government who doesn't care about the masses but always after their selfish interest.
Osodeke, spoke during a protest organized by ASSU members in Michael Okpara University of Agriculture Umudike on Thursday against the failure of the federal government to implement some of the agreement reached between the union and the government.
The ASSU leader assured the members of the union that he will do everything he can to ensure that their 7 months salary arrears will be paid to them by the federal government.
He said, "how children of ministers and top government officials in South African universitties attend their universities but you can never see that in Nigeria Universities because the leaders doesn't care, they send their children to universities in abroad and allow our own institutions to collapse".
He further accused the federal government of moving the 7 months arrears of the Asuu members from the Treasury single account to private account and therefore vowed that the members will get their arrears.
Some of the ASSU members displayed play cards with the following inscriptions "Pro-rated payment is encounter productive, ASSU mean well for Nigeria, FG wants to kill tertiary education in Nigeria".
Also speaking the ASSU chairman
MOUAU Prof Chike Ugwuene lamented that the Federal government has reduced a reverred Asuu to ordinary casual workers.
He stressed that they are protesting against the federal government because of the manner in which they are treating the lecturers.
According to him "Asuu is a union of intellectuals, they took us to court and failed to address the problem they created, they reduced us to casual workers and treats us as trash,they took us to court and told us to resume duties as obedient and patriotic citizens we decided to go back to the classrooms without paying us our 7 months salary arrears with the excuse of "no work no pay policy"
The university don further expressed his grievance that the Federal government was pushing them to the wall and we must show them that we really matter.
The immediate chairperson Asuu MOUAU Comrade Chinyere Echendu equally echoed same sentiment that the federal government have failed to implement the agreement they have reached in the past few years and have thereby reduced the union to peasants.
In a remark Prof C.O Offor, address blasted the federal government for not keeping to the agreements reached with the union.
"we are living in unusual times and government has no absolute goodwill for the people but rather wants to impoverish everyone.He therefore advised the members to be strategic at all times and as well perform their various duties to avoid falling into the trap of the government", he said.
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