ASUU Strike: Union Being Wicked To FG, Nigerians — Education Minister

The Minister of State for Education, Emeka Nwajiuba, has stated that the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) and other striking university workers are showing that they are wicked by shutting down universities in the country.

Today (Tuesday) marks the 50th day of the ongoing ASUU strike and the industrial action doesn't seem to be coming to end soon as the federal government is yet to meet the union's demands.

Speaking during an interview with a Punch correspondent, Nwajiuba criticised ASUU for the continued strike over demands he said the federal government would still meet.

"The only place we have a suspension of work is the ASUU, SSANU, and NASU on account of things they believe are owed them.

"We believe every union is entitled to make these requests. The government has agreed with them. The government is only releasing money as they have it.

"The renegotiation committee has always been constituted; the only departure is in the willingness of ASUU, SSANU, and NASU to continue working while the same entitlements are on.

"The others have the same demands but are willing to continue working while they get their entitlements. We have consistently said if you disrupt academic programmes because of one entitlement you are supposed to get, you will eventually get the entitlement but our children would have lost the time they are supposed to learn, you are just being mean.

"There is no point disrupting everybody’s life, those people can’t regain their lives but you can regain yours because you haven’t gotten it everybody else must lose something.

"The strike has not produced the money they are asking for, if the money was there they would have been paid the day they started the strike.

"Government has heard them, they are not wrong but the same way government has said they will get the money, for every strike they have embarked on they still get their money but human beings have lost times.

"They are not only being wicked to the government but they are wicked to the human beings that constitute Nigeria", he stated.