The Academic Staff Union of Universities, on Sunday, once
again, took a jab at the Minister of Labour and Employment, Chris Ngige, over
his failure to resolve the ongoing crisis in the tertiary education sector in
Nigeria.
According to a statement jointly signed by the branch
Chairperson of ASUU, Usman Danfodio University, Sokoto, M.N Al-Mustapha and the
branch Secretary, S.A, Sadiku, Ngige’s tenure recorded the highest number of
strike actions.
The union also called on the President, Muhammadu Buhari to
call the minister to order “before his lies further plunge this nation into
serious crisis.”
While referencing an interview granted to Arise Television
by the minister, ASUU-UDUS questioned some of the facts dished out by the minister
as regards the state of medical lecturers at UDUS who according to the
minister, did not join the ongoing strike by ASUU.
The statement partly read, “The attention of ASUU, Usmanu
Danfodiyo University, Sokoto Branch, has been drawn to an interview granted to
Arise TV by the Minister of Labour and Employment, Dr. Chris Ngige, on July 14,
2022. In the said interview, he characteristically (as always) misinformed and
disinformed Nigerians about the actual state of the ASUU-FGN reconciliation
efforts.
“In part of his remarks, Dr. Ngige pitiably and shamefully
stated, in quote “Medical lecturers are at work, they are teaching. 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.
So, today, they have written, their Vice Chancellor has approved that they are
at work. The labour controllers in those states have also confirmed that they
are at work and I have advised the Finance Minister and they are processing
their payments.”
“This is to
categorically and unequivocally inform the public and those concerned that
these are all in the imagination of the Minister. This intentional
misinformation and treachery against the sensibility of Nigerians, is already
known to many as the characteristics of Dr. Ngige. His manner of narrative
during the interview depicts his inhumane nature and wanton disregard for
truth, honesty and integrity, a character unbefitting of a Federal Minister.
“The question at this juncture is, how many of such untrue
statements has he told the President about the negotiations and how will he
continue to tell such fabricated stories before Nigerians? What would be the
magnitude of damage he has caused the education system of this nation by such
‘unstatesmanly’ comments? Is Dr. Ngige not aware that it does not add up that
the said lecturers have done their job, yet they have not been paid their salaries
for such job, or is he cunningly portraying his government as an unfair one?
“It should, however, be on record that such dangerous
precedence of falsehood without emotion, typical of “Conciliator” Dr. Ngige has
made him the worst Minister of Labour ever in the history of Nigerian labour
relations. His antics, biasness and wickedness have earned him the highest
number of strike actions during his tenure and have surpassed his predecessors
with the highest number of unresolved disputes and conflicts. Dr Ngige, by
attitude, succeeded in misleading all the critical stakeholders in the current
struggle into believing that the issue at stake is unsolvable.
“He has also succeeded in degrading his professional status
and the position he occupies, while his colleagues in the medical profession
are doing wonderfully well, both in Nigeria and in the diaspora.
“We, therefore, call on the Federal Government of Nigeria to
as a matter of urgency, take necessary action and call Ngige to order before
his lies further plunge this nation into serious crisis.”
Advertise on NigerianEye.com to reach thousands of our daily users
No comments
Post a Comment
Kindly drop a comment below.
(Comments are moderated. Clean comments will be approved immediately)
Advert Enquires - Reach out to us at NigerianEye@gmail.com