The National President of the Academic Staff Universities Union (ASUU), Professor Emmanuel Osadeke has commended members for their resilience, steadfastness and selfless service to the union despite the difficulties they faced, especially during their struggle with the Federal government against the use of Integrated Personnel Payroll Information System (IPPIS).
Speaking during the ASUU UniUyo Heroes’ and Indigent Students Award Day Celebration at the University of Uyo, Prof Osadeke urged members to remain committed to the course irrespective of their challenges.
While noting that members had suffered, their salaries suspended for years, Osadeke reminded them that the recent court victory was not on a platter of gold hence the need for them to unite to fight collectively for the welfare of their members.
“I want to thank members, especially the awardees for their sacrifices and contributions to the welfare of the union. You know we won that IPPIS case in court through your struggle and that victory was not a dash, therefore we need to strengthen our unity so that we can achieve anything we set out for.
“We decided to create this heroes day because people have made sacrifices, people have suffered and money will not compensate for that, but a name to compensate them. We made our living heroes.”
He also expressed worry over what he described as the bastardization of the recruitment process of lecturers by Vice Chancellors saying that employment into the Universities as academic staff have become a constituency project of politicians.
According to him, “Before now, University employment was done through advertisement followed by rigorous interviews but now how do people get here? It is through temporary appointments. That’s the problem that we have today. I do not know of any University for the past six to ten years that has advertised, but the staff strength has tripled.
“Vice-Chancellors just sat down somewhere and packed people from Traditional Rulers, Governors, and all other politicians listed into the Nigerian Universities as lecturers and most of them are now scavengers in the system, going after money and all manners of things. That is another fight the chairpersons of ASUU have to fight to bring sanity to the system.”
In his keynote address, Professor Desmond Wilson lamented that the struggles of the Union have been made difficult by fifth columnists and other agents employed by the government to confuse and urged all members of the union to remain selfless and committed in the fight for the betterment of all and the redemption of Nigerian Universities.
In his remarks, the Vice-Chancellor of the University, Professor Nyaudoh Ndaeyo who was represented by Professor Ben Etuk, commended ASUU for its selfless service to humanity noting that its roles have contributed immensely to the better welfare of the University staff.
