ASUP to sustain strike despite FG’s N15bn offer

Polytechnic lecturers have vowed to continue their ongoing strike despite the offer of N15bn by the Federal Government.

The leadership of the Academic Staff Union of Polytechnics (ASUP) said the Federal Government promised to release N15bn to the union for infrastructural revitalisation.

Addressing newsmen in Abuja, the National President of ASUP, Comrade Anderson Ezeibe, said the strike will be sustained “until the unresolved details in the offer are sorted out in the meetings expected in the coming days.”

The union had commenced an indefinite strike on April 6, demanding implementation of a new salary scheme for polytechnic lecturers, revitalisation of the dilapidated state of polytechnics, implementation of new national minimum wage, amongst others.

ASUP had explained its decision to down tool was to draw the attention of the government to the nine basic needs of the union.

It added there was need to release the 10- month arrears of the new minimum wage owed its members in Federal Polytechnics and the implementation of same in the several States yet to implement the new minimum wage.

The ASUP President said: “Our union received offers from the government during the meetings for the release of an infrastructural revitalisation fund of ₦15billion for the sector and this is in lieu of the NEEDS Assessment report of 2014.

“Following the considerations of the offers as presented, the National Executive Council of our union yesterday resolved to sustain the strike action until the unresolved details in the offer as presented are sorted out in the meetings expected in the coming days.”

Ezeibe further noted that two out of three scheduled meetings with the Federal Government have held and some of the demands met, including the release of 10-month salaries arrears for members among others.

The demands met include the reconstitution and inauguration of the governing council of all federal polytechnics, which were dissolved in 2020.

The ASUP president stressed that the strike will only be suspended after actual implementation of some of those offers made by the FG.

He faulted appointments made into the six newly established Polytechnics by the Federal Government, saying that five of six of the appointments do not qualify according to the 2019 Federal Polytechnics Act (as Amended).