As NANS threatens to ground int’l flights Gbajabiamila invites ASUU to meeting

Speaker of the House of Representatives, Femi Gbajabiamila, has invited the leadership of the Academic Staff Union of Universities to a meeting hoping to resolve the impasse between the union and the Federal Government that has resulted in about seven-month strike in the public universities.

The scheduled meeting fixed for Tuesday September 20 coincides with a threat by the National Association of Nigerian Students to take its protests to the international airports across the country and ground flight operations, beginning from Monday September 19.

The students had for four days last week blocked major roads including the busy Lagos-Ibadan Expressway, causing gridlock and agony for the road users during the period.

Gbajabiamila was said to have written a letter to ASUU for the Tuesday meeting expressing concern over the failed negotiations between the FG and the union.

The letter, according to the Punch, was signed by the Clerk of the House of Representatives, Yahaya Danzarta, and addressed to the president of ASUU, Prof Emmanuel Osedeke.

The letter marked ‘NASS/HR/LEG/03/11/065’ and dated September 15, 2022 read in part, “The Hon. Speaker House of Representatives, Rt. Hon. Femi Gbajabiamila, hereby invites you to a stakeholders meeting towards finding a lasting solution to the lingering strike embarked upon by the Academic Staff Union of Universities since February 2022.

“The House of Representatives is deeply concerned about the renewed strike which seems to have defied all efforts made to find solution or reach agreement between the Federal Government and the striking university lecturers.

“The House is more worried by the negative consequences of the strike on the future and quality of education of our teeming youths who have been kept at home for the past six months despite the intervention of the House and several well-meaning Nigerians over time to see that the matter was resolved.

“In the light of the foregoing, the House hereby requests for another opportunity to come together with stakeholders and leadership of ASUU to seek an amicable resolution without prejudice to the fact that the matter is already in the Industrial Court.”

For the students, Chairman of NANS National Task Force on ‘End ASUU Strike Now’, Ojo Olumide, said they were tired of pleading with both parties over the need to end the strike and ready to stage massive protests at the airports.

He spoke in Akure, Ondo State capital, that the four-day shutdown of busy highways and expressways had been a success, hence the move to disrupt international travels as from September 19, 2022.

He said, “We shall begin another round of protest next week by storming the airspaces on Monday, September 19, 2022 to #OccupyTheAirports#. We want to let the world know about the pains and anguish students are going through.

“Nigerian students whose parents create the commonwealth cannot continue to be suffering at home alongside our lecturers while the few who gain from our sweats and blood have their kids abroad enjoying.

“We call on students to rise and join us as we take our destinies into our hands. Our demands remain consistently clear and simple. We call on ASUU leadership for a meeting as soon as possible to discuss solidarity actions and plan for the next phase of the struggles.”

The student leader also said, “The only thing we request for them is to open our campuses back. They should give enough budgetary allocation; we are not asking for 26 per cent; we are asking for 22 per cent. We pass a vote of no confidence on the Ministers of Labour and Education.

“We call on the Buhari government to pay all outstanding arrears and salaries of the lecturers. The policy of “No Work No Pay” is a fascist one; it is, therefore, condemnable and unacceptable to all the millions of students in Nigeria.

“We will, by this statement, not beg again. We shall be mobilising all students to shut down the country.”