From Judex Okoro, Calabar

The Calabar Zone of the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) has said its national body did not compel the federal government to sign the 2020 Memorandum of Action with the union.

They made this known in a statement in Calabar signed by the chairpersons of all the seven branches of the union as well, including Zonal Coordinator Aniekan Brown and Prof Nsing Ogar, the former coordinator.

Brown said that it was unfortunate that almost a year since the agreement, the Federal Government is yet to fulfil its part of the MoA.

According to him, the allegations that the union had arm-twisted the Federal Government into signing the agreement does not hold water and amounts to cheap blackmail on the union.

The statement read in part:

‘It has also become very unfortunate that some employees of government could come to a public function to describe all agreements signed between Government and ASUU as one signed under duress by Government.

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‘This can best be taken as cheap blackmail. While we believe that the poor state of our university campuses is a result of the collective irresponsibility of successive governments.

‘It is absolutely logical to state that government puts ASUU members and leadership under immense pressure and psychological duress with the attendant threat to lives to ensure that we sign such agreements under extreme excruciating conditions.

‘An act of stopping someone’s livelihood is in itself, a life-threatening weapon of war even when there is no war. We, therefore, advise such Government employees to desist from misinforming the public to avoid re-igniting a dying fire of industrial disharmony, which ASUU has patriotically sustained in the past year.’

Reacting to the news about the Federal Government fulfilling its promise, Brown said the key issues yet to be settled include the revitalisation fund for public universities, earned academic allowances as well as nonpayment of some members.

He added that the government has refused to deal with these issues possibly because most of their wards are studying in universities abroad.

Brown called on the government to keep its side of the bargain to avoid a further showdown with the universities union.