By Victor Ahiuma-Young

STUDENTS of the 104 Federal Government Colleges, FGCs, otherwise known as Unity Schools, will resume academic and other activities today, following weekend’s suspension of the four week old strike over unpaid salary arrears among others.

However, the workers through their union, the Association of Senior Civil Servants of Nigeria, ASCSN, have called for the removal of the Permanent Secretary, Federal Ministry of Education, Mr. MacJohn Nwaobiala.

Announcing the suspension of the strike, Secretary General of ASCSN, Mr. Alade Bashir Lawal, said the suspension of the industrial action followed the release of the sum of N527,643,444.00 (five hundred and twenty-seven million, six hundred and forty-three thousand, four hundred and forty-four naira) by the Federal Government now being used to pay the first batch of the promotion arrears to staff of the Federal Ministry of Education.

In a statement, Mr. Lawal said, “besides, there have been appeals by well-meaning Nigerians including the Honourable Members of the House of Representatives Committee on Public Service Matters who met with the union and the management of the Federal Ministry of Education, October 17, 2014 in Abuja and emphasized the need for the Ministry to pay its staff all their outstanding entitlements.”

On the call for the removal of the Permanent Secretary, Federal Ministry of Education, Mr. Nwaobiala, the ASCSN Secretary-General claimed the negative attitude of the permanent secretary towards the welfare of the Ministry’s workers and the ignoble role he played by treating welfare issues with levity provided the ingredients that fuelled the industrial action.