Gbajabiamila deceived ASUU to call off strike, then abandoned them —HURIWA

The fisticuff between the Nigerian government and Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) has continued to generate concerns from Nigerians as well as rights organizations.

Human Rights Writers Association of Nigeria (HURIWA), on Friday, slammed the House of Representatives led by Femi Gbajabiamila for deceiving the univerisity lecturers into calling off its eight-month strike.

The group also accused the Speaker of abandoning the lecturers, having assured them of federal government’s readiness to attend to their demands.

This development was against the backdrop of the altercation between the Speaker and the academic union regarding the failure of the federal government to honour agreements as promised before the strike was suspended in October.

The FG had insisted on no-work-no-pay policy for univerisity lecturers throughout the eight months they were on strike.

Gbajabiamila, while replying to the accusation made by ASUU, denied promising lecturers payment of salary arrears by the federal government for the eight months.

READ ALSO:Gbajabiamila meets Buhari, disowns Reps member on stamp duties claim

HURIWA in a statement issued by its National Coordinator, Emmanuel Onwubiko, said Gbajabiamila breached the trust of the univerisity academics.

The group, however, lambasted the univerisity lecturers for allowing themselves to be deceived by the Speaker in the first place.

The statement read: “It is so disappointing that the Femi Gbajabiamila led green chamber has no modicum of honour at all. How does any rational human fathom that after weeks of persuading ASUU led by Prof Emmanuel Osodeke to call off the prolonged strike and after the lecturers did, the same Speaker Gbajabiamila turned his back on the lecturers and backed the APC government? Pathetic!

“Isn’t the Speaker supposed to be dispassionate and be devoid of prejudice? This breach of trust is unpardonable and questionable. Nigerians are not fools; they understand the game the Speaker is playing: get ASUU to hold on as he uses ‘smooth academic session’ at public universities to campaign for APC presidential candidate, Bola Tinubu. Whereas, lecturers are still being owed.

“HURIWA condemns the shenanigan by the lower chamber and calls on it to fulfil its part of the bargain by getting the Federal Government to pay the lecturers their earned allowances and other entitlements.”

By Ambali Abdulkabeer

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