By Agency Report

The ongoing nationwide strike by the Senior Staff Association of Nigerian Universities (SSANU) and the National Association of Non-Academic Staff Union of Educational and Associated Institutions (NASU) continued yesterday on most university campuses across the country.

The unions’ monitoring team yesterday shut down the University of Port Harcourt (UNIPORT) Demonstration Primary School.

It was learnt that the team stormed the primary school within the university, closed it and asked the head teacher and the pupils to go home to enforce the strike.

A senior employee at UNIPORT’s administrative department, who spoke in confidence, said: “The taskforce enforcing the strike today shut down the UNIPORT’s Demonstration Primary School. The headmistress of the schools thought that since it is a primary school, it is not included in the strike.

“But the taskforce explained that members of staff of the primary school are also members of the unions and should be affected by the strike.

“The strike has been effective since it started on Monday. None of them reported to work apart from the people enforcing the strike.”

The strike also stalled the orientation programme organised by the Obafemi Awolowo University (OAU) at Ile-Ife in Osun State for first year students.

The university’s SSANU Chairman, Dr. Taiwo Arobadi, announced this in an interview with News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Ile-Ife.

Arobadi said that it was a pity that new students, who were being exposed to the dos and don’ts in the institution, could have such an ugly experience while entering the institution.

The SSANU chairman said the union unanimously agreed that the strike be total and indefinite until government listened to its striking members.

“We have spoken with the university management and appealed that they understand the position of the union, adding that the order for the strike came from the national leadership of the union.

“Immediately we receive alert on our phones, we will resume our duties,” he said.

The unions’ Joint Action Committee (JAC) at the University of Ilorin (UNILORIN) yesterday joined the strike.

Addressing reporters in Ilorin, the university’s NASU Chairman Suberu Ibrahim said the strike would remain total and indefinite until the Federal Government paid the four months’ withheld salaries of its members.

His SSANU counterpart, Mr. Falowo Naheem, expressed displeasure over alleged mistreatment that the unions’ members were getting from the government.

At the Alex Ekwueme Federal University, Ndufo-Alike Ikwo (AE-FUNAI) in Ebonyi State, NASU threatened to sanction defaulters of the strike.

The AE-FUNAI’s NASU Chairman, Mr. Chibuike Igwe, told NAN that the union had mobilised for the full compliance to the industrial action in the university.

Also, the strike grounded administrative activities yesterday at the Michael Okpara University of Agriculture in Umudike (MOUAU), Abia State.

Our correspondent reports that apart from the office of the vice chancellor that was open, which members of the striking unions moved to close, all other offices were shut down.

Only the Department of Veterinary Medicine, whose students started their exams last week, was spared.

Other departments were said to have concluded their examinations last two to three weeks.

Apart from security operatives seen at different postings, all other non-academic workers stayed at home.

At the University of Jos (UNIJOS), SSANU Chairman Anthony Joro and his NASU counterpart, Monday Danjuma, said the unions’ members would not return to work until the Federal Government met their demands.

At the University of Nigeria Nsukka (UNN), the unions grounded administrative activities in all the departments.

SSANU Chairman Linus Akata said academic activities at the institution would remain on hold until all outstanding payments were made.

He said: “We held our congress yesterday (Monday) and people voted 100 per cent and commenced the strike immediately.

“Today (Tuesday), it was complied with 100 per cent. The bursar, the registrar and all the principal officers are working from home. No office is open. Both primary and secondary schools have been shut down.”

The unions’ branches at the University of Ibadan (UI) complied with the strike.

A lecturer at the Department of Sociology and Criminology, Dr. Tade Oludayo, told our correspondent that the strike did not have a direct impact on students as they had finished their examinations.

A student and President of the Faculty of Law, Idowu Ademola, said though students had finished their examinations few weeks ago, lecture theatres, libraries, and other places of learning were shut down due to the strike.

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