Students’ fate hangs in the balance as IBB varsity lecturers go on strike

The Academic Staff Union (ASUU) of IBB University Lapai, has embarked on a one-week warning strike over non-payment of N530 million accrued academic allowances.

Salahu Lawal, the ASSU chairman of the institution, told NAN on Thursday that the strike was also a protest over other unresolved issues.

‎According to him, the union and Niger government had agreed on the payment of the N530 million accrued allowances in January.

He said: “We had an understanding with the state government that from January 2018 they will start offsetting the accrued allowances consecutively for a period of time.

“We are telling Niger government by this warning strike that they have reneged on the agreement we reached with them in August 2017 and this a breach.

“This money is overdue and had accrued since 2009, nine years now.”

‎Lawal said such alleged breach of agreement would not augur well for the university which, he said, has a shortage of manpower, infrastructure and basic amenities such as water and electricity.

He said the institution lacks basic needs for proper teaching and learning.

“We want to graduate students that will be at par with their international counterparts to compete with them comparatively,” he said.

‎”We do not want to graduate students that will lag academically, psychologically, socially and otherwise.

“Our graduates should be our ambassadors anywhere they find themselves, this is why we are striving for a better institution.

‎”Our utmost demand is a better teaching and learning environment to produce the desired graduates for Nigeria and the world.’’

Lawal threatened that the union will proceed on an indefinite strike if nothing is done by the government at the end of the warning strike.