CPC Demands Implementation of FG, ASUU Agreement

The leadership of the Congress for Progressive Change (CPC) has asked the federal government to implement without further delay the 2009 agreement entered into with the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU), as means of ending the ongoing strike.

The party said the disruption of academic calendar in the nation’s universities at this time of its national development was very disheartening indeed.

In a statement issued Sunday by its National Publicity Secretary, Mr. Rotimi Fashskin, the party said the cause of ASUU’s face-off with the federal government was traceable to the latter’s unwillingness in keeping faith with the 2009 agreement, which it merely did by honouring only two out of the demands.

The party stated that the major demand of the university lecturers was the increased yearly sectoral allocation to education in the annual budget to meet the minimum standard of 26 per cent, as enunciated by UNESCO.

The CPC stated: “Between 2000 and 2010, the average sectoral allocation to education by the successive Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) regimes was 8.12 per cent.  It is, therefore, not surprising that in 2010, there was a meteoric rise in fees in tertiary institutions across the country and that no Nigerian university could be found among the first 5,000 in the world or the first 50 in Africa and over 12 million children of school age were out of school.

“Furthermore, there were 98 per cent and 74 per cent mass failure in the 2009 National Examination Council (NECO) November/December Senior School Certificate Examination (SSCE) examination and 2010 May/June WAEC examination respectively! As a party, we have noted that even the military regime before the infestation of PDP rule in Nigeria had an average of 12.87 per cent in sectoral allocation to education between 1994 and 1996.

“This, we believe, should be a no-brainer for any regime that seeks to radically improve the national educational standard. But we have seen that, over the years, the ruling People’s Democratic Party (PDP) has shown a consistency in exacerbating the falling standard of Education in the Country.

“As a party, we are appalled by the fact that, under Dr. Goodluck Jonathan’s watch, being a former university teacher, Nigeria’s tertiary education infrastructure has consistently degraded. Among the retinue of advisers milling around the President is Dr. Reuben Abati, the Special Adviser on Media and Publicity, who started his working career as a university teacher.

“It seems to us that the Presidential team is bereft of the needed direction and patriotism to turn things around in the Education sector, more so that the regime has other priorities like the N4 billion voted for the First Lady’s pet-project and the unconscionable jerking up of cost of the new home for the Vice-President from N9 billion to N16 billion.

“It is unfortunate that the scourge of PDP rule on Nigeria is having its toll on the future of Nigerians.  We hereby call on Nigerians, found anywhere on this slab of earth, to demand that the federal government implement the agreement reached with ASUU in 2009 without further delay.”