The Speaker of the House of Representatives, Femi Gbajabiamila has been accused by the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) of deceiving the union to call off its eight-month-old strike in October.
According to ASUU, Gbajabiamila had promised (written promise) that the Federal Government would offset in full the arrears of salaries members were owed.
The President of ASUU, Prof Emmanuel Osodeke disclosed this in an interview with Tribune on Tuesday.
Osodeke noted that the union had soft spot for Gbajabiamila which gave the chance to negotiate with the union.
The ASUU President revealed that the Speaker presented a paper signed by him to the leadership of the union indicating the seriousness of the government to pay in full the eight-month salaries its members were owed and also urgently attend to some other matters and specified how to address them.
Osodeke said part of the concerns were the peculiarities in the controversial Universities Transparency and Accountability Solution (UTAS) and the involvement of the house committee on budget allocation, among others.
He further stated that ASUU suspended it strike with the hope that Gbajabiamila’s words would be matched with action.
Osodeke noted that members of the union praised the Speaker for his intervention without knowing it was all a deceit.
He said the impression of the union members is that Gbajabiamila tricked them to go back to work and then sort out things immediately thereafter.
Osodeke said, “But here we are till today, nothing has been done over the promise and that is why the Speaker did not say anything tangible since then at least on the issues let alone ensure that his promises are carried out.”
He called on the Speaker to come out and prove that their impressions are wrong by working out the implementation of his promises to the union.
The ASUU President lamented that the court asked its members to resume to the classroom in spite of the treatment from the Federal Government and adjourned the case till January 26.
He said a sensitive case such as the one between ASUU and Federal Government and particularly with interlocutory injunction should have been addressed in whole and given a speedy hearing and concluded without necessarily being delayed as he said it is currently.
Osodeke who noted that damage has been done in the sector, prayed that the next government would declare a state of emergency in the sector and fix the mess.
