ASUU VOWS TO CONTINUE STRIKE BLAMING N.U.C.......DETAILS

ASUU has been on strike for about 3 months.
The Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) has
blamed the rot in the Nigerian university system on the

Executive Secretary of the National University
Commission, Julius Okojie, saying his failure to insist on quality has bastardised Nigerian universities.
The lecturers also vowed to continue their strike
unless the federal government honours the 2009
agreement it had with the union.

In a statement signed by its University of Ibadan
branch chairman, Olusegun Ajiboye, ASUU renewed its call for the scraping or a total overhaul of the
regulatory institution if the nation wishes to get it
right in university education management.

While calling on the National Assembly to beam its

searchlight on the activities of the NUC, Mr. Ajiboye

said the recent NEEDS assessment report on universities reflects how much the commission has

failed in its duties as a regulator.

According to him, the report undertaken by genuine

academics contradicts NUC’s accreditation exercises

which gave ‘controversial’ clean bill of health to most

universities through “magomago accreditation.”

The union contended that only in a society like Nigeria

would Mr. Okojie still remain in office after being

heavily indicted in the report, saying “in sane climes,

the NUC boss ought to have resigned through the

revelations made in the NEEDS assessment report.”

Mr. Okojie had, last week, absorbed his commission of

any wrongdoing in the rot plaguing public universities in the country, particularly as regards

undeserved accreditation, blaming members of the ASUU

instead.

Mr. Ajiboye, who described the statement credited

to the NUC boss as ‘careless’, accused Mr. Okojie of using

his cronies who can do his biddings to embark on accreditation.

He said the success of the 2011 elections was

based on the patriotic zeal and contributions of genuine and

patriotic ASUU members nationwide saying that

was why the election was free of hanky-panky

recorded in past elections.

The ASUU statement titled ‘Where Okojie Got It

Wrong,’ insisted that the NUC boss is fond of using his

‘yes sir’ boys to do hatchet jobs during

accreditations,

thereby compromising quality most of the time.

The union said its almost three-month-old strike is

fully on, adding that the it would not allow itself to be fooled

again with ‘promisory notes’ of the federal government

which had never worked in the past.

“ASUU cannot be blamed for NUC ‘magomago’ accreditations. Rather than blaming the Union,

Okojie should take full responsibility for all the fraudulent

deeds in the NUC, including the work and eat accreditations.

“The NUC knows the kind of academics they select for

their ignoble exercises. These are cronnies of the big

man in the NUC. They can never say no to his

biddings.

Nigerians should be proud of ASUU in it’s efforts at repositioning public universities in the country. One of

these major efforts is the NEEDS Assessment Document.

“This was a product of a rigorous academic

exercise carried out by dependable and credible members

of our Union. Unlike the numerous faulty accreditation

reports

which had given these universities clean bill of

health, the NEEDS Assessment Report stands out as a

classical document of reference detailing the rot and decay

in public universities in Nigeria. All well meaning

Nigerians can see the contrast between okojie’s ‘packaged

accreditation reports’ and a credible job done by

ASUU.

“It has become very clear from the Needs

Assessment

that Okojie and his cohort of accreditors have fooled

this country for too long. Enough they say is

enough. Time is now for the Government to beam a

searchlight

on the activities of the NUC. “The Education Committees in both the Senate and

House of Representatives have an arduous task to do

here. Nigerians are calling for dismantling of an omnibus

body that has done the country more harm than good.

NUC must go. “Professor Julius Okojie cannot absolve himself

from the rot in the university system by regulating

quantity instead of ensuring quality delivery,” ASUU said

Source:- The PremiumTmes