The Federal Government has been challenged to ensure a sincere, open and thorough investigation as well as prosecution of all the perpetrators of the theft of crude oil and other mineral resources across the country.
The call was contained in a communique issued at the end of the National Executive Council(NEC) meeting of the Academic Staff Union of Polytechnics (ASUP) signed by the National Publicity Secretary, Comrade Abdullahi Yalwa and made available to Journalists in Bauchi.
ASUP NEC stated that it received it with dismay and consequently condemned the quantum of theft of crude oil theft and other mineral resources of the nation as revealed in recent times.
The NEC, therefore, is worried over the nature and extent of the damages on the economic base of the country and observed that the recent discovery of crude oil theft in the country by an informal security unit amplifies the rot in the nation`s formal security organizations in addition to the sustained high level of insecurity in the nation.
NEC further noted that despite several early warnings, the authorities concerned have repeatedly failed to act appropriately to avert the devastating effect of flooding in most parts of the country a development it opined has left many lives lost, farms and property destroyed and a large number of people, displaced.
The situation has created untold consequences on the already pauperized citizens and the overall security of the country and is worsened by the nation’s poor record in disaster management.
The NEC noted also that major roads connecting the various parts of the nation have been blocked thereby aggravating shortages of food and other essential items in all parts of the country, which has led to the sudden hike in prices of food items and scarcity of other items like petroleum products in some parts of the nation.
NEC equally notes the signing of the peace accord by political parties and their candidates for the 2023 general elections and hopes that such will facilitate a smooth electoral process.
ASUP also called on Nigerians to always imbibe environmentally friendly practices by avoiding harmful practices of building and dumping refuse on waterways to reduce the dangers of flooding.
It also called on the Federal Government to properly equip and empower its relevant agencies to rescue the nation`s transportation infrastructure from the annual blockages by the flood.
The Governments should also seek lasting solutions to the problem, including constructing dams in appropriate locations to ameliorate flooding and enhance food security across the nation as well as review the security architecture of the nation, through proper collaboration among all security agencies in order to tame the growing insecurity in the country.
On the 2023 General elections, ASUP advised Political parties and their candidates to embark on issue-based campaigns and respect the peace accord signed in the run-down to the 2023 general elections.
The NEC also resolved that Nigerians should rally around the staff unions in the tertiary sector and ensure that citizens are not blocked from having access to quality education at the tertiary level and deploy every lawful instrument to resist any attempt by the government to make public tertiary institutions inaccessible to the masses.
It however warned that the Federal Ministry of Labor to desist from the plot to balkanize ASUU and ensure that the registration and recognition of any new union in the University system in particular and the tertiary education landscape, in general, is in sync with the law.
Also, the government should release salaries owed to members of ASUU, SSANU, NAAT, and NASU in the Nigeria University system to facilitate the restoration of sustainable industrial harmony; and to deploy the globally accepted instrument of collective bargaining in resolving trade disputes in the sector.
ASUP, therefore, reiterated that it stands in unfettered solidarity with ASUU in its current engagement with the government.
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