By Chidi Nkwopara

OWERRI—Students of state-owned universities in the South East geo-political zone may remain at home indefinitely as their lecturers have vowed to continue their strike until the state governments fully implement the recent ASUU-FG agreement.

Chairman, South East State Universities’ Strike Coordinating Committee, Dr. Emmanuel Osodeke, made the stand of the lecturers known during a press conference in Owerri.

“We won’t call off the strike if the state governments fail to fully implement the agreement. We can’t continue to deceive the students, their parents and guardians.

“If the state governors say they do not have money to run the universities, they should tow the path of honour and resign so that those who are prepared to implement the agreement will mount the saddle,” Osodeke said.

Noting that it was the responsibility of Academic Staff Union of Universities, ASUU, to protect the integrity of tertiary institutions, Osodeke stressed that government should not just look at the salary component of the agreement alone.

He recalled that all state universities in the North, South West and South-South have since started implementing the agreement and wondered why the South East governments were reluctant to follow suit and save education in the zone.