Governor Yahaya Bello of Kogi State has said that he was forced to proscribe the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) in the Kogi State University (KSU) as part of the surgical operation that must be carried out to make educational sector in state healthy.
He stressed: “the way and manner ASUU Kogi State University Chapter was going about it, it is more or less like a political party that was in opposition.”
Governor Yahaya Bello, who spoke to news men at the Presidential Villa, Abuja shortly after the meeting of the governors on the platform of the All Progressives Congress (APC) with Acting President Yemi Osinbajo, regretted that Kogi State University ASUU refused to shift ground after the state government had met 90 percent of their demands.
Governor Yahaya suspected that certain forces from certain areas that have been pushing the leaders of the union, but that the concern of his government is that certain amount of demands that were put forward, among which is salaries, have been paid fully.
He stressed that as a government, “we will live up to our duties and responsibility so that even our lecturers and all other civil servants in Kogi state will be taken care of adequately and within the ambit of our resources.
He said that the most important thing is that Kogi state university belongs to Kogi state and it is the future of the children and of the students that must concern him as a leader, adding: “and so long as that is assured and we can protect that, I don’t think we have any apology for taking that decision.”
The governor said that after his government conducted the screening exercise of the entire staff in the state, the government was able to meet up to 90% of several demands which ASUU came up, saying that some of such demands pre-dated his administration.
“The institution (University), has been on strike for almost seven months now. Now, the question is government owed you seven months, government has paid you seven months among other demands.
“But there is one important thing that you are owing the critical stakeholders in education that you can never pay back, which is the time of the children; the time of our young ones. The time of the students that has been wasted that you can never give back.
“I appealed to them to return to classrooms on or before the end of this month and that we will pay all outstanding arrears. Every other institutions resumed but KSU ASUU refused to resume.
“But what is more amazing and disturbing is that in the course of interacting with them, in the presence of all stakeholders, including the Attah of Igala, the Acting Chairman (of ASUU) made a remark that even if we meet 100% demand of ASUU KSU or lecturers KSU, we only succeeded in minimizing the incidence of strike in the institution. He went further to expatiate that if every thing is running normal in the institution and the National body of ASUU desire to go on strike for whatever reason, Kogi KSU will join the strike action.
“And, I think that is most irresponsible and they are not sensitive to the plights of parents, the students and even the future of the young ones.
“If that is going to be the case, as the Visitor to that institution, I am empowered to proscribe that association in that institution so that we can have smooth academic running.”[myad]
