The President of the Academic Staff Union of University (ASUU), Prof Emmanuel Osodeke has once again tackled the federal government’s claims of not having sufficient funds to meet the union’s demands, thereby forcing the union to embark on strike.
In an interview, Osodeke said the federal government “went to sleep” for eight months after it completed negotiations with the union in May 2021. He explained that the government was expected to have met their demands after the initial four weeks warning strike declared on February 14, but rather, they were told the window period was too short.
He added that the union does not intend to declare an indefinite strike, hence it decided to extend the action for another 8 weeks and is hoping that the government would do the needful so that schools can return to normal and there will be an improvement in the system.
Osodeke who also reacted to the federal government’s claims of not having enough funds to meet its demands asked if constructing a railway from Kaduna to Niger Republic is more important than education, and why the government has allocated money for election but not for education.