Barth Ndubuwah, Port Harcourt
The Chairman of the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU), University of Port Harcourt (UNIPORT) Branch, Dr Uzoma Darlington Chima has faulted the claim of the Minister of State for Education, Mr. Chukwuemeka Nwajuba that the Federal Government (FG) has addressed all ASUU demands and as such, there was no need for them to extend the one month warning strike.
Speaking exclusively to Nigerian NewsDirect, the ASUU Chairman described such claim as false.
According to him, the bone of contention has been non-implementation of the 2009 FG/ ASUU agreement and by extension breach of the 2017 renegotiated 2009 agreement, which metamorphosed into two MOUs and an MOA. These agreements and MOUs/ MOAs till today, he said remain unimplemented.
Comrd. Chima equally poked holes in the insinuations that UTAS failed FG’s integrity test by those he said are benefiting from the Integrated Personnel Payroll Information System (IPPIS), describing it as a deliberate attempt to discredit the Universal Transparency and Accountability Solution (UTAS) to continue to benefit from their unholy alliance.
The lecturer, who said UTAS before now had been adjudged to have scored 70% in integrity test, now wonders how the software now failed the same test.
“A student that scored 70% in any subject, has automatically scored an ‘A’, so if UTAS scored 70% in integrity test of the FG ,it has passed very well.
“So the extension of the strike for 8 weeks is to allow the FG to conclude its integrity test on UTAS and other pending issues, so that the students can go back to their studies and more so, our members said they are tired of promisory notes,” the ASUU Chairman said.
On Earned Academic Allowance (EAA), Dr Chima said the issue is still pending.
“Revitalisation fund is also pending, which the FG said it has no money to implement.
“So why would the Minister of State for Education, Chukwuemeka Nwajuba go on air to claim that the FG has addressed ASUU’s demand.
“We were surprised to hear the Minister go on air to make such statement. It is rather unfortunate,” he said.