We are yet to call off strike – COEASU

The Education Minister will meet with the union on Thursday.

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Unlike the Academic Staff Union of Polytechnic, ASUP, that is expected to resume work on Tuesday after suspending its ten months strike, the Colleges of Education Academic Staff Union, COEASU, said on Sunday that it was yet to call off its seven months old strike.

COEASU’s General Secretary, Nuhu Ogirima, in an interview in Abuja, said the union would end the strike only after a clear-cut commitment towards meeting the remaining part of their demands had been made by the Nigerian government.

“We (COEASU) are yet to call off our strike. We are waiting for some commitment from the federal government. We had a closed-door meeting with the new Honourable Minister of Education, Ibrahim Shekarau, last Thursday separate from the one he had with ASUP. We discussed meaningfully at length. His remarks were quite impressive. We could see that the new Minister is really determined to ensure that the issue is resolved,” Mr. Ogirima said.

He disclosed that the Minister had promised to meet with the union on Thursday after studying its demands.

“We are very much willing to end the strike. But until we hear from the Minister on Thursday, the strike continues. We do not want a situation where our people will be unnecessarily victimised. As we speak, we have not been paid salaries for four months now. So, we want an unambiguous pronouncement from FG,” he said.

Mr Ogirima added that the outcome of the next meeting would determine the position of the union on the strike.

“After the Thursday meeting with the new Minister, we will review our position and it will be communicated to the press through our President,” he said.

The COEASU scribe also stated that the leaders of the Governing Councils of Colleges of Education, National Commission for Colleges of Education, NCCE, and the Committee of Provosts would meet with the NEC on Tuesday.

The meeting called by the Chairman of the Forum of Governing Councils of Colleges of Education, Emmanuel Anosike, is meant to broker an understanding geared towards addressing the problem.

COEASU has been on a seven-month strike, demanding for better working conditions and improved funding for their schools, amongst others