ASUU wants FG’s Visitation Panel To Halt Crises In Varsities

-Some Vice Chancellors are actually mismanaging their system. We have written to complain about them and when you see crisis coming from the school, for us in ASUU, it is not unexpected.

Professor Biodun Ogunyemi, President, Academic Staff Union of Universities has called on the Federal Government to send a visitation panel to universities to douse tension and prevent further breakdown of industrial relations in campuses.

Ogunyemi told the News Agency of Nigeria on Saturday that this was necessary following continued reports of intimidation and harassment of some of its members in some universities in the country.

He said that the union was worried about the actions of some Vice Chancellors to suppress the union’s activities in campuses, saying such a visitation panel would promote industrial harmony.

“Some Vice Chancellors are actually mismanaging their system. We have written to complain about them and when you see crisis coming from the school, for us in ASUU, it is not unexpected.

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“That doesn’t augur well for good governance, and that is why we continue to prevail on the government to look into our petition against some Vice Chancellors and address the issues we raised.

“We have many of these cases coming from some of these campuses, and that is why we are calling on the government, anytime we have the opportunity to douse tension and prevent further decline or breakdown of industrial relations on these campuses,” he said.

It was reported that within the last few months, there have been reports of dismissal of some ASUU members in some universities, while some Vice Chancellors proscribed union’s activities.

Ogunyemi also said the union was worried about the non-inclusion of the university workers’ allowances in the 2019 budget, but expressed optimism that it would be fully paid in the 2020 budget.