Folorunsho Medinat Olajumoke writes,
The students of Usmanu Danfodiyo University, Sokoto, have bemoaned over the strike threatening by the Academic Staff Union of the Universities (ASUU), despite the disbursement of 52.5 billion Naira for the revitalization of the university and earned academic allowance.
Recall that the federal government has stated that it has paid lecturers N30 billion Revitalisation Fund and N22.5 billion Earned Academic Allowance, stressing that it has made a lot of progress in the implementation of the Memorandum of Understanding reached with the university workers.
The Minister of Labour and Employment, Senator Chris Ngige, who spoke to THISDAY at the weekend on the update of government’s engagement with ASUU, said that he had received confirmation from the Federal Ministry of Finance that funds had been released to the universities for the revitalization of infrastructure and payment of earned allowances.
However, despite the disbursement of 52.5bn to the ASUU, the union still threatened to embark on a fresh strike due to failed promises of the federal government.
Ibraheem Ghazali Omobolaji, a 300-Level student of the Faculty of the law said the ASUU strike would go a long way in disrupting the academic career of Nigerian students and would also delay the students from graduating at the right time.
“I urge the union to take things easy with the government because strike which has become the custom in Nigeria university is not the only way to address the government over pressing issues demanded by them, ” he noted.
Wahab Hussein Kehinde, a 300-Level student of Law narrated how ASUU went on a four-month-old strike when he was in 200-Level, and nine months in 300-Level, noting that the future of education in Nigeria is at stake.
Olawoyin Islamiya Motolani, a 300-Level of Education Biology said:
“FG should pay lecturers the backlogs of salaries they owe as these people also have a family to cater for and responsibilities to bear and as quoted by the former chancellor of Caleb University. They should carry ASUU along in their policy-making including budgeting and implementing of such because they can’t run the University with their own money.
Hamidu Alhassan lafiagi a 100-Level student of Medical laboratory science stated that the ASUU strike would elongate the normal years he is to spend on the UDUS campus.

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