2019 Elections: INEC To Meet ASUU On Friday
;
Sequel to the failure of the
federal government to find a lasting solution to the lingering strike by public
university lecturers, the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has
decided to hold a meeting with the lecturers’ union, the Academic Staff Union of Nigerian Universities (ASUU) on January 4, ahead of the 2019 polls.
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| LEFT: INEC Chairman, RIGHT: Election Box |
The national president of ASUU,
Biodun Ogunyemi, confirmed the development to PREMIUM TIMES Monday morning.
According to Mr Ogunyemi, the
major reason for the meeting is for the union to assist the electoral body in
the forthcoming election.
The meeting, according to the
electoral body, will be limited to the involvement of their members in the 2019
general elections.
Mr Ogunyemi said the meeting
will hold in Abuja.
ASUU embarked on an industrial
action on November 4 to protest the poor funding of Nigerian universities and
an alleged plan by the federal government to increase students’ fees and
introduce an education bank.
But INEC had raised an alarm
that the lingering ASUU strike would no doubt have a serious impact on the
preparations for the conduct of the 2019 elections.
“They are one critical resource
and their absence will have adverse effects on the ad hoc staff requirement of
INEC,” the commission had said.
The Senior Staff Association of
Nigerian Universities (SSANU) disagreed with the statement by INEC that the
strike by university lecturers could jeopardise the 2019 elections saying, “the
ongoing national strike by ASUU has nothing to do with the 2019 elections.”
However, THISDAY newspaper
reported INEC’s National Commissioner and Chairman Voter Education and
Publicity, Festus Okoye, saying the commission is hopeful and positive that its
scheduled meeting with the leadership of ASUU and the leadership of other unions
in federal tertiary institutions on Friday would yield the desired result.
“ASUU leadership and the
leadership of the commission led by the Chairman, Professor Mahmood Yakubu,
will hold a consultative meeting with the leadership of ASUU on the 4th day of
January 2019,” Mr Okoye said.
He said the scheduling of the
meeting is a clear indication that both parties are concerned and determined to
find a middle ground that will enable the members of ASUU to continue their
additional services to the country.
“The commission wants to
emphasise that the meeting with the various unions will be limited to the
involvement of their members in the 2019 general elections and how to manage
the current industrial action for it not to affect the patriotic contributions
of staff and students in the electoral process,” he said.
He said it was also incumbent
on the various stakeholders in the electoral process to nudge the parties
towards a negotiated settlement of the issues that led to the industrial action
in the various tertiary institutions.
Source: Premiumtimesng.com
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