By Our Reporters

ABUJA- ACADEMIC activities in public universities nationwide will from today be shut down as Academic Staff Union of Universities ASUU, begin a one-week warning strike to protest the non-implementation of the 2009 agreement the union reached with the federal government, raising fears the crisis facing the nation’s education may further worsen.

However, the Federal Government has appealed to members of ASUU to abort the planned strike.

This came as Nigeria Labour Congress, NLC, reiterated earlier leaders directives to states where the government was not meeting them or had not signed agreement on the implementation of the N18.000 minimum wage to declare industrial action.

Vanguard gathered that about 24 state governments are yet to reach agreement with labour on the implementation of the new wage, out of which workers in six of those states are currently on strike.

Sources told Vanguard that public workers in Plateau State are expected to begin an indefinite strike over non-implementation of the new wage from today.

Leaders of ASUU in Ilorin zone, yesterday said not even a meeting held between some of their leaders with government representatives last week could stop the strike as the issue of dispute had not been addressed.

The zonal Coordinator of the Ilorin zone of ASUU, which comprises Obafemi Awolowo University, Ile-Ife; Ladoke Akintola University, Ogbomoso; Ekiti State University, Ado Ekiti; Adekunle Ajasin University, Akungba-Akoko; Federal University of Technology, Akure; and the University of Ilorin, Kwara State, Dr. Pius Enikanoselu, said in Akure that there was no going back on the strike declared by the National Executive Council, NEC of ASUU.

Enikanoselu said, “the decision to embark on a one-week warning strike was taken at the National Executive Council of ASUU and it will take the same council to upturn whatever decision it had already taken.”

He noted that ASUU’s NEC had slated another emergency meeting for next week after the one-week warning strike to determine the next line of action.

Leaders of ASUU had last week threatened a one-week warning strike as from today to protest the non-implementation of the 2009 agreement the body signed with the federal government.

The body lamented in a statement that “all avenues to make the federal government to implement the agreement, more than two years after it was signed had been exhausted without any success.

ASUU, having exhausted all avenues of consultation with relevant federal government officials, decided at its last National Executive Council meeting held at the University of Ibadan, to embark on a one-week warning strike commencing September 26, 2011.”

The strike was aimed at sensitizing the federal government on the need to wake up to its responsibilities by respecting the FG-ASUU 2009 agreement. The eventual response of government will decide the union’s next line of action.”

Strike is to save education from total collapse …….. Dr. Okpliya

Speaking further on the strike, Chairman of University of Calabar branch of ASUU, Dr. James Okpiliya, said the strike was also to ensure that Nigeria Educational system reckons with its counterparts the entire world, warning of an indefinite should the government remain adamant on the implementation of the contentious agreement.

According to him, “In this direction, ASUU is accordingly committed to ensuring that the lost glory of University education in Nigeria is redeemed through addressing the debilitating specter of brain drain, creating conducive condition for research, teaching and learning.”

“This failure by successive governments to recognize education as an indispensible agent of human and national development has had a devastating impact on our image as a nation and as well as threatened the realization of future collective aspirations.

“It is indeed tragic that in the 21st century an immensely endowed country like Nigeria should still have a government that pays mere lip service to education and plays politics with it, anchoring on empty sloganeering, visioning and promises.”

He regretted that whenever ASUU embarks on strike over the dilapidated state facilities in the country, government always cajoled the union with the alleged false impression that all the union seeks is enhanced pay package.

“Government’s negligence and outright impunity with the Agreement are made manifest even in aspects of the Agreement that require no funding”, he said.

FG urges ASUU to call of strike

Meantime, the Federal Government has urged members of ASUU to reconsider the planned strike as the government is committed to implementing the agreement.

In a statement weekend by the Assistant Director of Press,  Ministry  of Labour and Productivity, Mr Sam Olowookere, he said the Minister of Labour and Productivity, Chief Chukwuemeka Wogu had assured  the union that President Goodluck Jonathan was committed to implementing agreement reached with the ASUU.

According to Olowookere: “The Labour Minister gave the assurance last Friday in Abuja during a meeting held between him, the National leadership of ASUU, the Minister of Education, Prof. Ruqqayattu Rufai and the Minister of State for Education, Barr. Nyeson Wike.

The Statement said after an prolonged  meeting between the labour Minister,   the union and other stakeholders in the education sector, the following agreements were reached: “That the existing FGN/ASUU Agreement 2009 Implementation  Monitoring Committee should co-opt the following; one representative from the Federal Ministries of Finance, Labour and Productivity  and the Budget Office.”

According to him, the “Committee agreed to develop strategies and time lines to facilitate the implementation of the Agreement; conclude discussions on the implementation of the agreement for presentation by November 22, 2011.”

It added that it was agreed at the meeting that it was expected that ASUU should take urgent steps to review its position on the impending strike.

Meanwhile, the 11 states that have reached agreement with labour on the implementation of the new minimum wage are Bauchi, Benue, Edo, Lagos, Ogun, Taraba, Nasarawa, Kwara Cross Rivers, Yobe and Kaduna.

Unconfirmed reports said agreement in Ondo and Ekiti states are still in contention.

On the position of Northern Governors’ Forum that they should be pressurized to pay the minimum wage, NLC’s Head of Industrial Relations, Comrade Emma Ugbuaja, said the position of the forum was immaterial to workers because the forum was unknown to law, while the minimum wage was a law.

According to him, It is not about pressure to pay or not. It is about a law that was signed by the President of the country. The Northern Governors’ Forum is not known by law. To the workers their view is not important and immaterial. In fact, to the workers, the forum is useless and illegal. In any case, about seven governors from the forum have reached agreement with labour on the issue.”