Defiant ASUU dares FG over sack threat

All signs point to no let up by Academic Staff Union of Nigerian Universities (ASUU) on the strike that is on its fifth month despite the Federal Government's ultimatum that the lecturers resume on December 4 or be sacked.

It was a defiant ASUU that responded to the government's sack threat, as the body believes that the new posture of the Federal Government will only compound the situation.

Coordinator of ASUU,  Calabar zone, Dr. Charles Ononuju, Calabar Zone, said  the order to return to the classrooms issued to them by the Supervising Minister of Education, Nyesom Wike, would worsen the strike action rather than solving the problem.

Ononuju, in a statement in Umuahia,  accused Wike of deceiving  President Jonathan on the crisis.

According to the ASUU chieftain,  Wike and some other unnamed officials of the Government are not sincerely pursuing solution to  the lingering problem between the union and the Federal Government.

He said that  with such threats the crisis would linger far longer than expected.

It is his belief that he crisis could not be resolved that way.

'We received with shock the pronouncement of by the Supervising Minister of Education, Wike, that lecturers should resume work or be sacked', Ononuju said.

ASUU said that the it had recorded significant progress in its discussion on how to resolve the crisis and was waiting for President Goodluck Jonathan's reply to their letter after their meeting when the minister came up with the 'unfortunate' pronouncement.

Ononuju said, 'Sacking lecturers will not solve the problem but will compound it. Wike should resign and come to the university and teach. This is not the way to go if they go this way, the crisis will not be resolved in the next 100 years.'