ASUP STRIKE UPDATE: Partial compliance greets polytechnic  Lecturers’ strike

There was partial compliance with the two-week warning strike declared yesterday by the national leadership of the Academic Staff Union of Polytechnics (ASUP).

While many Federal and state-owned polytechnics complied with the warning strike, some did not embark on the action or were still consulting to decide on what to do.

In Kaduna State, academic activities were grounded yesterday on the four campuses of the state’s polytechnic in compliance with the national body’s directive.

Our correspondent who visited the main campus of the Federal institution in Tudun Wada and the College of Business and Management Studies (CBMS) at Ungwar Rimi areas of Kaduna, observed that lecture rooms were empty and only a few students and non-academic workers were seen around.

The strike also partially paralysed business activities around the campus as the students were not around.

Speaking with The Nation, the Chairman of the Kaduna Polytechnic’s chapter of ASUP, Abubakar Jibrin Abdullahi, said the strike followed the resolution reached at the 112th NEC meeting of ASUP to withdraw the services of all academic workers across Nigeria’s polytechnic system.

He said the Kaduna Polytechnic chapter of the union fully supported the strike.

The ASUP chairman said the action was meant to protest the “Federal Government’s continued failure to honour its commitments, as outlined in the work plan agreed upon during our last meeting with the Federal Ministry of Education and other stakeholders on October 23, 2024”.

He added: “The issues leading to this industrial action include, Number One: Impunity in Rector Appointments; Violations of the Federal Polytechnics Act in appointing Rectors at Federal Polytechnic, Wannune, and Federal Polytechnic, Nekede, as well as the failure to appoint a Rector for Federal Polytechnic, Damaturu.

“Despite the National Industrial Court’s ruling, the Federal Government has neither reviewed these flawed processes nor held erring Governing Councils accountable.

“Number Two: Non-review of schemes of service. The contentious and suspended Schemes of Service for Polytechnics and Conditions of Service remain unresolved.

“Number Three: Non-release of the 2023 NEEDS Assessment intervention funds.

“Number Four: The National Board for Technical Education (NBTE) continues to interfere with the Academic Boards’ statutory functions concerning the admission of Higher National Diploma students,” he said.

The union leader also alleged that the Federal Government failed to ensure the inclusion of peculiar academic allowance for sustained payment in the planned post-IPPIS era as one of the key reasons for the strike.

He said the union was also protesting the unpaid arrears of members in the lower cadre.

Abdullahi averred that ASUP frowned at the delays in conducting promotion exercises in some state-owned institutions and non-release of promotion arrears in Federal and state-owned polytechnics.

He urged the Federal Government to address the issues to avoid further disruption in the nation’s polytechnic system.

In Imo State, ASUP Chairman at the state’s Polytechnic at Omuma, Dr. Julius Chigozie Offurum, said the institution supported the strike but would join today.

He said Mondays were being observed as sit-at-home across the state.

The union leader added that he had submitted a letter on the decision to join the strike to the institution’s Rector.

“I am just coming from the Government House to submit the national letter from the (ASUP) National President to inform the government about the decision to withdraw our services in two weeks. From there, I went to the honourable Commissioner of Education.

“Before now, I had written an internal letter to our Rector, informing him of the national decision in this regard.

“Monday is usually for sit-at-home in Imo State. By tomorrow, I will still be in school to observe the level of compliance by our staff members. But so far, everybody has been awoken to respect the decision of the apex union.

“We are observing the strike fully and management is fully aware of that,” Offurum said.

According to him, there are reasons for the institution to join the strike.

“We have an 11-Point Agenda, but out of these, they (governments) have only addressed one, which is allowing the institution to conduct the Higher National Diploma (HND) admission and then relate to the National Board for Technical Education (MBTE), not MBTE taking over.

“The scheme of service which they brought is against the welfare of public servants. We have asked them to review it, and they constituted a committee on it. But we don’t know what the outcome will be.

“Outside of these two, we have tabled nine other points to them. They have neither made any efforts to look at them nor proffer solutions. They’re not taking the union serious. We cannot continue to fold our arms and allow things to spoil.

“Some polytechnics’ appointment of rectors has been against the Polytechnic act. The Federal Government is still allowing governing councils in institutions to violate this Act and the other nine-point agenda we tabled to them. None of these things has been attended to.

“We will proceed to an indefinite strike if our demands are not met. But I am not a lone decider of that,” he said.

At the Delta State Polytechnic at Otefe-Oghara in Ethiope West Local Government Area, the union leaders have been silent on the two-week warning strike.

Efforts to confirm if the strike was observed yesterday were futile.

When our correspondent called the rector, Prof. Emmanuel Ufuophu-Biri, and sent a message to his mobile phone, he neither answered the call nor replied to the message.

When contacted, the polytechnic’s Public Relations Officer, Sagboje Clinton, said he was outside the school on an official assignment and had sought to know the state of affairs from his “boss” following an earlier message to him, by this reporter.

But he did not get back to our correspondent last night over the matter.

At Yaba College of Technology (YABATECH) in Lagos, our correspondent observed that academic workers stayed away from the lecture halls in compliance with the action, while non-academic workers opened their offices.

Also, at a congress held on the campus, ASUP YABATECH Chairman Monday Ojo said out of the ASUP’s 11 demands, the government had only attended to one while another one was partially met.

The union leader said the other nine demands remained unattended to.

He said the union members would strictly adhere to the strike and monitor its compliance.

Ojo added: “Other demands have not been met and the government has not deemed it fit to invite the union. So, after the National Executive Council (NEC) meeting (of the union), it was resolved that we should have a two-week strike at first instance, depending on government’s position at  this point. That will determine the next line of action.

“So, the NEC will reconvene to deliberate on what next to do. It could be two weeks, one month, or indefinite. By next year, if nothing tangible is done, we can always resume action. That is why the national body has held a congress in all chapters to inform them about this.

“There are issues for the seven per cent peculiar allowance embedded on the IPPIS portal. We are being paid with GIFMIS, but the seven per cent is an issue of concern because it is not reflecting in our pay.”

In Jigawa State, the five ASUP chapters in the state complied with the warning strike.

ASUP’s Zone A Coordinator Abdul’aziz Ibrahim Badaru told The Nation that all the union’s members in the five Federal and state-owned institutions followed the national body’s directive on the strike.

Badaru said: “All the members of our association in the five institutions complied and are on the two-week strike, as directed by the national headquarters of the union.”

The union leader named the institutions as Hussaini Adamu Federal Polytechnic at Kazaure; Jigawa State Polytechnic at Dutse; Bulyaminu Usman Polytechnic at Hadejia; Jigawa State Institute of Information and Communication Technology at Dutse, and Jigawa State College of Remedial Studies at Babura.

In Katsina State, the state’s polytechnics were silent yesterday on their compliance with the strike.

When our correspondent visited Hassan Usman Katsina Polytechnics and the Federal Polytechnics at Daura, none of the union’s chairmen was willing to address reporters.

HUKP’s ASUP Chairman Nasir Gidado did not pick his calls when The Nation called yesterday to verify the level of compliance with the strike.

There were academic activities yesterday at The Polytechnic in Ibadan, the Oyo State-owned institution.

The institution’s ASUP Chairman, Dr. Kola Lawal, told our correspondent that an audit was taking place in the institution, as directed by the state government.

The union leader said this made it difficult for the polytechnic to comply with the strike.

According to him, there is no strike in the institution due to the ongoing staff audit.

Lawal explained that activities in the institution were going well without any interruption.

Also, the polytechnic’s Public Relations Officers (PRO), Alhaji Soladoye Adewole, said the strike could not begin yesterday due to the staff audit.

The union leader said labour union in the state had directed that members would not be part of the NLC strike in some states.

The Nation reports that during its visits to the South campus, E-library, Central Administration building, CEC, CIDM, and Examination and Records, there was no sign of a strike at the school.

Also, the strike did not have a major impact at the Federal Polytechnic of Oil and Gas on Bonny Island in Rivers State.

It was gathered that the students of the polytechnic had comcluded their examinations and were already on holiday when the strike was declared.

A senior lecturer, who spoke in confidence, told The Nation that the strike would only affect the meeting of the Academic Board of the institution.

He said: “There is nothing much the strike will achieve in this school because almost all the academic work had been concluded for the session.

“Lectures and examinations have been concluded and the students have gone home for holiday to resume in January. The only thing the strike will affect is the meeting of the Academic Board. If the strike continues, the board cannot meet.

“It is advisable for the government to resolve all the issues now because if the strike persists till the resumption of school, it will surely affect academic activities.”

Also, the ASUP branch at the Adamawa State Polytechnic in Yola said it will meet today to mobilise members for the strike.

A top official of the branch, who spoke in confidence with our reporter, said the meeting is a routine to announce the start of the strike at the local level.

“We have the memo from headquarters, but the routine is that we at our level will meet and formally mobilise to implement the directive from above,” the ASUP official said, objecting to being named because official communication can only be made after the scheduled meeting.

It was learnt that the Federal Polytechnic in Mubi joined the strike.

But no ASUP official at the polytechnic could be reached for comment yesterday on the state of the action.

The Plateau State Polytechnic in Barkin Ladi, near Jos, and other polytechnics in the state joined the warning strike.

Even non-academic workers joined the action.

ASUP Chairman at the state polytechnic, Mahanan Dang, told our correspondent that the chapter complied with the directive of the national body.

Dang named the institutions that joined the strike as: the College of Health Technology at Zawan and the Pankshin and College of Arts, Science and Remedial Studies at Kurgwi.

He said: “We have joined the strike over the non-implementation of the 25 per cent salary increase for states and arrears of Federal Government salary for Federal Polytechnics from February to December last year.”

At the Federal Polytechnic in Bauchi, the ASUP members said they joined the two-week nationwide strike yesterday.

ASUP President at the polytechnic, Shammah Kpanja, expressed frustration over the government’s failure to address key issues affecting the sector, despite an earlier ultimatum.

ASUP’s Secretary at the Federal Polytechnic in Bauchi, Hussain Yaro Ali, confirmed that though the polytechnic was not in session, it joined the strike.

“Yes, we have joined the strike, as directed by the NEC of the union. Besides, our school has concluded the 2023/2024 session. Sorry, I’m in a meeting,” Ali said.

Also, the Abubakar Tatari Ali Polytechnic (ATAP) in Bauchi said it was deliberating on whether or not to join the strike.

ATAP’s ASUP Chairman Nazif Pali told our correspondent on phone that the institution planned to hold a congress where the union would take a stand.

“You can call me tomorrow (today) after the congress tomorrow,” he said.