Members of the non-academic staff unions in public universities in the country are currently on strike. Their grouse is that payment of allowances which the Federal Government approved for academics was not extended to them, even though they had entered into a separate agreement with the government. Implementation hiccups seem to have precipitated the current action and some members of the Academic staff union are equally angry with the Federal Government. Indeed, the entire exercise appears to be a Hodgepodge and one of the questions this endless strike throws up is: When will the Nigerian government get it right with the universities?
There are even more questions being asked in the universities and beyond: is it true that the Federal Government dealt directly with Academic Staff Union of Universities, ASUU, and the other unions in data generation? Is it true that some qualified members of staff were excluded in the payments now approved by the Federal Government? Why was the management of universities left out in the process? Who verified the information that the unions gave? Nigeria must, as a nation, always be careful in handling public issues and no government should allow itself to be arm-twisted into illegalities.
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