UNIJOS joins ASUU warning strike

Dr Lazarus Maigoro, Chairman of the University of Jos (UniJos) chapter of the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU), has said that members of the chapter have joined the ongoing two-week warning strike embarked upon by the national body of the union.

Maigoro confirmed this in an interview with News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on Wednesday in Jos, adding that the members were loyal and would always abide by every decision of the national body.

NAN reports that ASUU had on Monday declared a two-week warning strike because of the Federal Government’s inability to pay salaries of lecturers who are not enrolled into the Integrated Personnel and Payroll Information System (IPPIS) and the non-implementation of the 2009 agreement, among other issues.

NAN also reports that the decision to down tools was reached at the National Executive Council (NEC) meeting of the union held at the Enugu State University of Science and Technology (ESUT), Enugu.

According to Maigoro, if the government fails to meet the demands of the union as agreed, it would proceed on a nationwide indefinite strike.

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“We had our congress meeting here yesterday and we have adopted the resolution of our National Executive Council (NEC).

“This simply means that ASUU in the University of Jos has joined the ongoing two-week warning strike,” Maigoro said.

A student of the university, Miss Patience Anzaku, described the ongoing industrial action by the lecturers as “unfortunate”, regretting that the students always bore the ripple effects of such action.

Anzaku said that though the strike had been declared, most students were still hanging around to see the dimension it would go before travelling home.

“Our lecturers joined the strike yesterday after it was declared on Monday and a lot of us are still holding on to see how it goes before deciding to travel back home. But most students are still around.

“These incessant strikes are no longer funny because it is the students and their parents that suffer the delays and additional spending,” she lamented.

Anzaku called on government and ASUU to fashion out the best ways to end the impasse in the interest of the students and the future of education in the country.

(NAN)