STIRKE: ASUU, BENIN ZONE CALLS ON SOUTH EAST GOVS TO RESIGN

By NBF News

The Benin Zone of the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU), yesterday called on South-east governors to resign from office for failing to resolve the academic crisis in the region's state-owned universities. The call came on the heels of a one-week warning strike embarked upon yesterday by the Senior Staff Association of Nigerian Universites (SSANU) to compel defaulting state governors to implement the 2009 agreements reached with the Federal Government to reposition the Nigerian university system.

Addressing journalists in Benin, the Zonal Coordinator of the Benin Zone of ASUU, Dr. Sunday Ighalo called on the people of the South east to hold their governors responsible for the collapse of education in the South east if they fail to resign and pave way for visionary leaders who appreciate the role of education in the development of human societies.

He observed that the crisis plaguing the universities in the South east was a manifestation of the failure of governance on education and a direct admittance that the governors cannot manage the affairs in their respective state universities.

Ighalo blamed the governors' failure to resolve the crisis in the state-owned universities on the insistence of the governors to convene a meeting on October 1 with Igbo academics only, as well as hold the meeting in Igbo language which led to its collapse.

'The Benin zone of ASUU is extremely disturbed by the continuing paralysis in the state universities in the South east, resulting from the recalcitrant posture of the State Governors to implement the year 2000, FGN/ASUU Agreement,' Ighalo said.

.. adding, 'the zone particularly took exception to the strange action of the Governors in the South East for their insistence to hold the meeting only with Igbo academics and to conduct the meeting in Igbo language, which led to the collapse of the October 17th meeting called to resolve the lingering crisis.'

He however, told journalists that the zone which earlier went on a-two-day sympathy strike with their colleagues in the affected South Eastern states, has no plan to go on another strike.

The Benin zone of ASUU comprised the University of Benin, Ambrose Alli University, Ekpoma, Delta State University, Abraka, Niger Delta University, Wilberforce Island and the Federal University of Petroleum Resources (FUPRE), Effurun.

Meanwhile, the UNIBEN branch Chairman of SSANU, Comrade John Osaretin Alile in a statement he read on behalf of the National President of SSANU, Chief P.A.K. Adewusi yesterday explained that the one week strike action was in solidarity with its branches where the state governments are yet to implement the 2009 agreement reached with the Federal Government.