The Nigeria Union of Teachers (NUT) on Thursday
gave a two-week ultimatum to the Federal
Government and the Academic Staff Union of
Universities, ASUU, to resolve the strike
embarked upon by university lecturers since 1
July. The NUT President, Mr Michael Olukoya, gave the
ultimatum in Abuja at the end of the union’s
meeting with teachers’ representatives across
the country. The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that
ASUU, had on July 1, embarked on a strike it
described as “comprehensive, total and
indefinite”. The lecturers are protesting the non-
implementation of some issues, contained in an
agreement the union had entered into with the
Federal Government since 2009. Olukoya said that members of the union would
not hesitate to close down the nation’s schools, if
the two parties failed to reach agreement after
two weeks. He described the current ASUU strike “as
nationalistic, patriotic and self-sacrificing. “We will not hesitate to shut down the education
system in the country, if the government fails to
fulfil or honour the agreement it entered into
with the lecturers.” The NUT president said that Governor Adams
Oshiomhole of Edo’s call for a complete over-haul
of teachers’ qualification as unacceptable to the
NUT. He said that the blame should be put on the
doorsteps of the employers and not teachers. “NUT will forever be proud of all its teachers,
believing that all employment agencies are
corruption-free, disciplined and quality conscious
in their employment drives.” Olukoya also urged the governors of Kogi, Benue
and Cross River to honour the agreement they
made with teachers on the payment of 27.5 per
cent teachers salary structure.
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