Confusion as two factions of Ebonyi varsity ASUU issue conflicting strike directives

Two factions of the Academic Staff Union of Nigerian Universities (ASUU) at the Ebonyi State University (EBSU) issued conflicting directives to their members over the body’s warning strike.

According to NAN, the Godfrey Nwambeke-led caretaker committee stated that EBSU’s ASUU would not join in.

In contrast, another faction led by Ikechukwu Igwenyi, acting chairman of the ASUU branch, stated that it would.

ASUU’s national body, on February 14, declared a one-month warning strike over FG’s failure to meet demands.

Nwambeke, who spoke to journalists on Friday, advised lecturers and students to disregard ASUU’s warning strike.

“One of the major reasons for the non-compliance is that the ASUU national executive committee (NEC) has been indifferent to issues concerning the union at EBSU, which they ought to have resolved since,” Nwambeke said.

“You may recall that ASUU-EBSU in its congress of September 16, 2021, suspended its former Acting Chairman, Igwenyi, from office for acts inconsistent with the union’s constitution, financial impropriety, amongst others.

“The suspended chairman flagrantly refused to meet the resolutions of the congress for him to transmit various financial activities to the congress.

“A congress of the union then sacked the executive and set up a caretaker committee to drive its affairs and conduct fresh elections.”

Nwambeke said the NEC was notified about the crisis in EBSU’s branch of the union but it abandoned it to its fate.

“We, therefore, urge members of ASUU-EBSU to shun any strike declaration by Igwenyi as any staff who obeys such a directive does so at his or her peril,” the EBSU-ASUU executive added.

In reaction, Igwenyi issued a statement to journalists, contrarily stating that ASUU-EBSU would join the strike intended to rescue education in Nigeria from total collapse.

“ASUU-EBSU rose from its emergency congress on Feb. 17 with an overwhelming resolution to activate the nation-wide one-month strike declared by ASUU,” he said, contradicting Nwambeke.

Igwenyi described ASUU as a union established to fight for the welfare of staff and the development of institutions.

He maintained that the ASUU-NEC issued the strike because the federal government failed to fully implement the MOA it signed with the union in December 2020.

The acting chairman stated that there shall be no academic activities in the institution, including teaching, seminars, statutory meetings of the senate, council, convocation, or matriculation.

According to him, academic activities would resume whenever the strike was suspended by ASUU-NEC.