“We Will Stop Our Strike When FG Attend To Our Issues” – OAU JAC

By Sodiq Lawal

The Obafemi Awolowo University Joint Action Committee, JAC, of Senior Staff Association of Nigerian Universities, SSANU; Non Academic Staff Union of Universities, NASU; and the National Association of Academic Technologists, NAAT has stressed that activities at the University will be restored when the Federal Government shows adequate resolve to address the issues raised by the striking workers.

Workers in the institution under the banner of Joint Action Committee had declared an indefinite strike over welfare issues, which paralysed activities in the prestigious school.

Speaking on the resolve of the workers to embark on a full strike, a senior official of NASU, Comrade Akindele Akinibi said that it reluctantly took the decision after it seemed the federal government is not prepared to address issues raised by the workers.

He noted that NASU in the institution tried to keep activities within some limit even when the national body directed otherwise, maintaining that only the federal government can ensure resumption of activities in the institution.

He said “the national body are not happy with us because we did not follow their directives by making sure no exams hold and collecting some certain amount of money from the university management so as to make everything go smoothly on campus.”

“As it stands now it is only the Federal Government that can end the ongoing national strike but if they fail to do so then we will make sure that we follow the directives from the national levels with 100% compliance” he said.

Aside recently admitted students whose resumption may be stalled by the ongoing strike, Mr. Akinibi hinted that light and water in the institution may soon be interrupted.

“The Freshers resumption can not even be guaranteed as at now because the ongoing national strike is not an OAU Affair but its a national issue,” he noted, adding that “ water and light might be taken anytime, all this can be guaranteed if the Federal Government can answer our call and do the needful.”

The crisis in OAU, it would be recalled, emerged after the federal government released a N23 billion ‘Earned Allowance’ to University workers but was shared using 89% to 11%.