We've Lost Confidence In FG–ASUP President Laments

President of the Academic Staff Union of Polytechnic, ASUP, Chibuzor Asomugha, has expressed his frustration over the lingering industrial action embarked on by the union to press home for its demands from the Federal Government.

Members of ASUP have remained at home for 10 months. Students of various public polytechnics in Nigeria have also begged the government to meet the demands of their lecturers to enable them return to the classrooms for lectures.

Asomugha lamented that the FG is yet to answer them despite exhausting almost all avenues of getting the federal government to commit itself to implementing an agreement it reached with the union in 2009, including two more compromises granted to the government.

“The last time I spoke to the Minister of Labour, he assured us that the memos where ready for the President both at his point and at the point of the chief of staff. He gave us that assurance and that was about three weeks ago and so, we are surprised up until now, we don’t have any feedback and that is perplexing,” the ASUP remarked.

The union boss noted that ASUP has eventually accepted government’s offer to pay outstanding salary arrears to owed to polytechnic staff in installments as well as the setting up of an inter ministerial technical working committee to begin to look into to other outstanding issues with a view to bring them into actionable positions within two months.