Nigerian Government Break Off Negotiations With ASUU, Blames Opposition

The Nigerian Government has
decided to break off negotiation with
the Academic Staff Union of
Universities (ASUU) over what it
called the infiltration of the union by
the opposition to discredit the
government.
The committee set up by the Federal
government to negotiate with the union
had given a verdict of non-compromise
on the part of the union and the security
report of the infiltration of the
opposition it decided to break the
negotiation.
It was revealed that the committee had
reported to the government that the
union had remained 'rigid and
unbending' to suggestions on how to
agree on some of the issues it was
agitating for so as to end the strike
which had entered its ninth week.
The committee had told the government
that the union leaders were arrogant and
selfish as their interest was paramount
to that of their students who had been
at home all this while.
The government after the report told
the committee members that it had
fresh security report that the union's
stance on the lingering crisis in the
education sector was as a result of the
opposition's infiltration into the union.
It said the opposition wants to portray
the government as irrational and
uncaring to the plight of the lecturers
and their students as well as present the
government in bad light to Nigerians and
the international community.
The government in breaking the
negotiation has decided to fund
individual student's education as it is
done in advanced countries.
As a way of making nonsense of the
industrial action by ASUU,
SaharaReporters gathered that the
government plans to introduce loans to
the students throughout their period in
the university so as to cushion the effect
of the financial hardship on the students.
The government expects the students to
re-pay the loans after graduation
provided they get jobs of their choice. It
however could not be ascertained how
the loan to the students would compel
the lecturers to call off the strike.
The National President of ASUU, Dr.
Nasir Fagee, had last week during a press
conference at the University of Lagos,
Nigeria said the union had pulled out of
the negotiation between the union and
the Nigerian government citing
insincerity as reason for its decision,
adding that the union would not call off
its strike until the agreement the
government signed with the union in
2009 is honoured.