From Tunde Omolehin, Sokoto
Academic Staff Union of Universities, Usmanu Danfodiyo University, Sokoto chapter, has dismissed claims by Minister for Labour and Productivity, Dr. Chris Ngige, that its medical lecturers have jettisoned the strike and gone back to work.
Speaking at a press conference in Sokoto, its branch chairman, M. N. Almustapha, said the minister’s utterance was an attempt to divide the union by creating an unsavoury relationship between the medical lecturers and other members of the union.
Almustapha, while recalling an interview granted by Ngige on July 14, said the minister “misinformed Nigerians about the actual state of the ASUU-FGN reconciliation efforts.”
He quoted the minister to have said the Vice Chancellor wrote a letter that medical lecturers were at work and that he advised the Finance Minister to process their payments.
“Sokoto has graduated their medical students, they are reasonable people, they have tested the strike, and saw that it produces no result, yes they did it the last time,” he quoted Ngige to have said.
Almustapha described the minister’s statement as “a political and moral insensitivity of Dr. Ngige through inhumane concoction of lies against ASUU, UDUS” saying the entire members of ASUU-UDUS branch, including the College of Health Sciences were fully on strike.
“Contrary to the claims of Ngige, there is no letter written by the Vice Chancellor of Usman Danfodiyo University Sokoto or any of his representatives depicting that medical lectures are not on strike to any agency of government from UDUS. The university has not graduated any student since the commencement of the strike action in February 2022,” Almustapha said.
He called on the Federal Government to as a matter of urgency, take necessary action and call the Minister of Labour and Employmentto order “before his lies plunge Nigeria into serious crisis.”