Education Minister Is Too Distracted – ASUP Chairman

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April 11, 2014 4:20 PM

The Supervising Minister of Education, Nyesom Wike, is too distracted by other activities to bother about finding a solution to the protracted Academic Staff Union of Polytechnics (ASUP) strike.

ASUP National President, Chibuzo Asomugha, made the accusation in an interview with PM News on Thursday.

“It does not seem as if anything is working out again. The minister has refused to invite us for another meeting and he definitely looks distracted from our cause," the union boss said.

“We have not been invited to have any meeting with the government despite the fact that we have made our grievances known to them. The students have been at home for about six months and the government is not doing anything about it."

Asomugha lamented that the Federal Government was not being responsive enough despite the union's attempts at ending the industrial action.

“Honestly speaking, we have been pushed to the wall and it seems there is nothing we can do to salvage the situation. If you sincerely know of any other means to press home our demands, you can tell us, because everything seems impossible as it stands now,” Asomugha said.

He therefore restated ASUP’s resolve not to back down on its demands.

“We are not backing down despite the negligence on the part of the federal government but we shall seek other means of ensuring that our demands are met and to also ensure that our members are not frustrated.”

In a related development, the Special Assistant to the minister on Media, Simeon Nwakaudu, as reported by an Abuja based paper, said over 90% of ASUP's demands have been met.

He also reportedly added that the only outstanding issue is that of salary arrears which the Federal Government is offering to pay in two instalments.

ASUP embarked on an indefinite strike since October 4 October, 2013, to press home their demands.

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