Don’t Destroy Abuja Varsity, VC, Union Heads to Striking Lecturers

THE University of Abuja Vice Chancellor, Professor James Adelabu has urged the striking lecturers of the institution not to destroy the varsity’s academic calender and its developmental strides.

Adelabu described the strike action declared by a section of the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) (splinter group) UniAbuja branch, as an attempt by members to destroy the institution.
 
The VC maintained that there was no basis for the strike action by the lecturers stressing that the University did not owe any of the Unions in the school check-up dues as ASUU claimed.
 
Also, other heads of Unions within the University in separate chats with our reporter dismissed the motive behind the strike action by the lecturers.
 
The union heads said the striking lecturers’ had an ulterior plan to use ASUU to settle personal scores with the Vice Chancellor.
 
However, Professor Adelabu said pointedly that the strike action has a political undertone with elements of malice, coming at a time he was already preparing to exit as the Vice Chancellor.
 
According to him, “the leadership of ASUU have been boasting openly that they would embarrass my administration with the strike action for reasons best known to them”.
 
The VC said as a leader, he would refuse to be blackmailed, more so when the striking lecturers knew well that he did not owe their Union a penny.
 
He recounted his efforts in developing cordial relationship between the University authorities and the Unions within the school, recalling that his administration had so far offered the Unions sums of monies totalling N11 million as a form of assistance to them.
 
In his words, “My Administration do not owe the ASUU Union a penny. The issue of unpaid check-up dues and other allowances are all tissues of lies told to fool the public. They know I don’t owe them a penny.
 
“They have been lying that I opened account somewhere and put inside the University’s money and then they started calling me names. How on earth can they do that? They can go to court if they were sure of their fact.
 
“This is an allegation taken too far. I am not a thief and I have done so much to revive the University as evident by the building of infrastructure and paying attention to the welfare of everybody. People I don’t even know can testify to this”.
 
The Chairman of Non-Academic Staff Union, Uniabuja, Comrade Bando James who spoke to our reporter dismissed the faction of ASUU on the strike action it declared saying the lecturers should consider the harrowing experiences of the students of the university by ending the strike action immediately.
 
Comrade James said NASU would never be part of any action within the school targeted at blackmailing the school’s authorities for no just reason.
 
He said NASU in Uniabuja had the endorsement of its national headquarters never to support the strike action on the basis that the motive for it was uncalled for.
 
He said the striking lecturers only gave very flimsy excuse to go on strike, noting that the University authorities, indeed, never owed the Union any check-up dues as it claimed.
 
According to him, “NASU abstained from joining the lectures in the strike because members were happy with the management of the school, which had upgraded 25 of our member into higher cadres”.
 
He recalled that members of NASU in the school had benefited massively in the promotion exercise by the administration of Uniabuja through which according to him, more than 90 percent of them got prompted.
 
Meanwhile, the Secretary Integrity Group members of ASUU, Dr P B Maidoki has asked his colleagues on strike to return to classes because none of them could justify their actions.
 
The action by the striking lecturers, according to him was needless and abnormal while failing to take into consideration the interest of students of the school who were writing their examinations.
 
He said, “The University management did not owe any Check-up dues. It is rather the ASUU Union that had failed to remit what they ought to have remitted into the schools account. The strike action is just a means to blackmail the school authorities.
 
On his part, Professor E A Ajala, Director Distant Learning College, Uniabuja appealed to the striking lecturers to return to classes on the basis that there reason for declaring strike action was not justifiable.

He said the varsity cannot afford another round of strike having lost so much grounds in their previous strikes.