The Academic Staff Union of Polytechnics (ASUP) in the country has insisted to continue with their ongoing industrial action which has crippled the academic activities in their various campuses until the Federal Government injects in real terms N19 billion into the system.
The N19 billion, according to them, is the amount the government had agreed and signed with the union at their last meeting to release into the public polytechnic education nationwide as the first installment and that the money covers N15 billion revitalization funds and another N4 billion to offset their accumulated salary arrears on minimum wage.
On Monday, The National President of ASUP, Dr. Anderson Ezeibe, gave this explanation again, in an exclusive interview with newsmen.
According to him, ASUP is still expecting the Federal Government to honor its last agreement made with the union before we can go back to classrooms.
He explained that ASUP is not making a fresh demand but only refreshed the old agreement made since 2018 and then asked the government to meet a very small fraction of it as immediate and that is just N19 billion.
“So, the government will need to inject the N19 billion into the system without further delay. It is for the good of polytechnic education and Nigeria’s economy as a whole.
He said even at that, the high inflation in the country had already messed up the value of N19 billion as of today when compared with the period the money ought to have been injected.
“Our Naira is being depreciated in value each and so the government will need to do the needful by releasing the money in real term and not in the paper,” he stressed.
When asked when last the government representative(s) communicated with the union over the matter, he said there was no new official communication between them since they were both signed the agreement of the N19 billion.
He said, “Though we heard that the Federal Ministry of Education had already made a request in written to the President for the release of the funds, N19 billion, we can’t rely on that as requisition for funds is not the same thing as the fund itself.”
While noting that polytechnic education is designed to produce skillful and highly technical manpower for the economy, ASUP boss, however, appealed to students and parents and all lovers of good education in the country to see the development as a sacrifice for a better tomorrow.
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He, therefore, re-emphasized that ASUP members would sustain the six weeks and four days old strike until this their demand is met.
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