Declare state of emergency on ASUU strike ADC Chair tells FG

Chief Ralphs Nwosu, the National Chairman, Action Democratic Congress (ADC), has appealed to the Federal Government to resolve the lingering Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) strike.

Nwosu made the appeal in statement on Monday in Abuja, saying that the Federal Government should declare a state of emergency on the ASUU strike.

The ADC chairman, while saying that he was saddened by the unresolved dispute between the Federal Government and ASUU, said it was about time government found a lasting and permanent solution to it.

He said that it was morally wrong and immoral for students to remain at home because of avoidable strike.

“The ASUU strike is completely unfortunate and represents the degeneration of values and leadership,“ Nwosu said.

He attributed youth unrest and other anti-social vices in some parts of the country to the ongoing ASUU strike which had been on since Feb. 14.

According to him, some young men and women have been forced into negatives and crimes because of the strike.

Nwosu said it was unfortunate that other staff unions in the university sector had joined the wagon of embarking on industrial action.

“The unions are demanding better welfare packages, more funds to run the universities, a stop to the indiscriminate setting up of new universities.

“The discontinuation of the use of the Integrated Personnel Payroll Information System (IPPIS) as the payment platform in the university system among others,” he said.

He added that it was regrettable that while series of meetings had been held between government and the unions, no tangible result had been achieved.

“We therefore call on the Federal Government to as a matter of urgent concern declare a state of emergency on the matter and find a lasting and permanent solution to the ASUU strike,“ he said.

Nwosu said this was critical to ensure that students went back to school at all cost within a fortnight.

“We are playing with the future of a whole generation and by extension our whole future.

“The Federal Government should look for money, just as it looked for money to execute elections, build rails from Nigeria to Niger, to sort out ASUU.

“Human development comes before infrastructural development,“ he added.