Strike: ASUP, COEASU Lock Horns With FG

The ongoing strike by unions in the nation’s polytechnics and colleges of education comes on the heels of the over five-month-old strike by the Academic Staff Union of Universities.

In a three-page letter dated December 18, 2013, President of the National Association of Colleges of Education Academic Staff Union, Mr. Asagha Nkoro, spelt out in clear terms why the union was embarking on the strike action it commenced last month.

In the letter, COEASU stated that the Federal Government had failed to honour its agreement with the union despite having a series of talks with it between September and December 2013.

“It is common knowledge that COEASU leadership had always felt that the talks held so far with government representatives were well-intentioned.

“While the government held series of talks with the union leadership between September and December 2013 (specifically six times; four of which were attended by the appropriate Minister of Education and also Labour and Productivity), evidences abound that the government does not wish to keep her side of the bargain in meeting the understanding reached at such meetings. This, without equivocation, is unacceptable to our union given the peculiar high nuisance and volatile nature of the colleges of education sector,” the letter read.

On December 18, 2013, COEASU embarked on the