NANS to state position on ASUU strike on Friday

The National Association of Nigerian Students, (NANS) will come out with its position on the ongoing strike by the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) on Friday, its president, Mr Yinka Gbadebo, said on Wednesday.

Gbadebo told the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Lagos that the body was still consulting on the issue.

He said that for now, they were appealing to all parties involved in the strike to find ways of reaching a compromise as students were always affected during strikes.

On the implication of the ASUU strike coming when the Academic Staff Union of Polytechnics (ASUP) was also protesting, he said that it was not good for students to be at home for long.

“The government should at least do something for the unions because they play an important role and in the interest of the nation’s academic future, there should be a compromise.

“We are appealing to both unions to look into the plight of the students because the staying at home of the students could do damage to their future, “ he said.

According to him, though the demands of the two unions would improve their productivity and welfare, they should also consider the students.

Gbadebo said that there should be give-and-take from both the government and the unions in resolving the problems.

NAN recalls that ASUU had directed its members to embark on an indefinite strike nationwide since Monday.

The action followed the inability of the Federal Government to implement some of the issues contained in a 2009 agreement it had with the union.

ASUU also said the government had reneged on the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) it entered into with the union in December 2011.

ASUP has also been on strike since April– over several issues.

Information from NAN was used in this report.