Speaker of the Bauchi State House of Assembly, Abubakar Y. Suleiman, has appealed to the Academic Staff Union of Polytechnics (ASUP), Abubakar Tatari Ali Polytechnic Bauchi chapter to suspend its ongoing strike so as to allow students to resume academic activities immediately.
He made the appeal during a meeting he convened with the management of the polytechnic led by the rector, Dr Adamu Sa’idu and leadership of ASUP, ATAP led by its chairman, Malam Dahiru Musa, at his residence in Bauchi.
Suleiman, who expressed his concern and that of the members of the Bauchi State House of Assembly over the prolonged strike which started few months after the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic,, said that the strike portended serious setback to the educational pursuit of students of the state.
He pledged to take up the demands of the striking polytechnic lecturers to the state governor, Senator Bala Abdulkadir Mohammad, immediately, with a view to resolving all the issues that were raised.
“As I take the matter to the governor, who, I believe will act swiftly, I urge you to suspend the strike immediately so that our children will resume and continue with their academics.”
“The governor is doing a lot in the education sector and working hard to resolve all salary issues in the state. The deputy governor’s committee is working round the clock and the problem of salary will soon be a matter of the past in Bauchi State.”
In his remarks, the rector of the polytechnic, Dr Alhaji Adamu Sa’idu, thanked the speaker for intervening in the matter which he described as statesmanship and patriotism.
According to him, the management has made all efforts to avert the strike so that academic activities can continue after being halted by the COVID-19 pandemic but the union resisted.
The rector therefore appealed to the union to heed the patriotic calls of the management, state assembly, government and good people of Bauchi State to suspend the strike while the demands of the union are being looked into.
In his response, the chairman of the union, Malam Dahiru Musa, commended Senator Suleiman for his concern on the plight of the union and students of the polytechnic.
According to him, the union has already presented its demands ranging from the issue of implementation of promotion, yearly salary increase and third party deductions to the head of service.
While appreciating the speaker and the head of service for their intervention, the chairman urged him to take their demands to the governor and ensure that a written agreement on the implementation dateline is obtained.
YOU SHOULD NOT MISS THESE HEADLINES FROM NIGERIAN TRIBUNE
We Have Not Had Water Supply In Months ― Abeokuta Residents
In spite of the huge investment in the water sector by the government and international organisations, water scarcity has grown to become a perennial nightmare for residents of Abeokuta, the Ogun State capital. This report x-rays the lives and experiences of residents in getting clean, potable and affordable water amidst the surge of COVID-19 cases in the state.