By Festus Ahon
UGHELLI—THE Academic Staff Union of Universities, ASUU, Benin zone, has expressed disgust at what it described as the festering insensitive disposition of some state governments in the country towards the Federal Government / ASUU 2009 agreement.

Addressing newsmen, yesterday, in the Abraka campus of the Delta State University, the Benin zonal coordinator of ASUU, Dr Sunday  Ighalo, noted that all the Governors in the South-East zone of the country and Governors of Lagos, Ogun and Rivers States were prominent conspirators to undermined the development of education in Nigeria by their willful act or plan to frustrate the implementation of the 2009 agreement.

He said, “it is provocative to note that while the state Governors in the South-East have maintained blatant refusal posture towards the implementation of the agreement, the Governors of Lagos, Ogun and Rivers States are foot-dragging and anticipating a renegotiation.

“Of particular source of worry is the comatose state of state Universities in the South-East, where students have been sent home for many months  now as a result of what seems to be an unholy conspiracy among the Governors in the zone, to destabilize the education future of the people by their singular action to keep their universities under lock and key.

“The Benin Zone is thoroughly disappointed and lament, that even though some of the Governors claim to be highly educated, they still relegate education, a situation which does not exist in Pakistan, Palestine or even in the war-torn Iraq.

“How can we, for example, explain the behaviour of some of the Governors in the South East, who directed the release of hungry police dogs on innocent students and lecturers, who are demanding that the right thing be done?” Ighalo added.

“We advice these Governors to come back to the path of reason as this is a democracy and not military dictatorship. We further advice them to unleash these hungry dogs on the kidnappers that have infested their various domains.

“We query the continual collection of a monthly security vote of between three and five hundred million naira by these anti_people Governors whose states have been taken over and are now under the complete control of kidnappers and hoodlums.

“Having reviewed the worrisome and deteriorating state of education in these anti_education states of the Federal (Anambra, Imo, Ebonyi, Enugu, Lagos, Ogun, Rivers and others), the Benin Zone of ASUU is resolved to religiously observe the 3 day warning strike declared by the Union’s leadership in solidarity with our colleagues in the state universities operating under the hardship of non_implementation of the 2009 FGN/ASUU Agreement.

“We call on all Nigerians to hold the Governors of these respective states responsible for the disruption in academic activities occasioned by the warning strike, beginning from Monday, 11th October, 2010. This is a first step in the lined_up actions to compel these recalcitrant states to respect a collective Agreement.

“The Benin zone of ASUU is of the view that the honourable option left for a State Governor who cannot guarantee the education need and future of his people is to resign. We are poised to resist any attempt to arm_twist, blackmail and intimidate our colleagues in an ensuing struggle to call the bluff of government and its agents to make slave out of our colleagues in their father land.”