From John Adams, Minna
Despite the release of N15 billion by the Federal Government out of the N456 billion revitalization fund recommended for both federal and state-owned Colleges of Education across the country, the College of Education Academic Staff Union (COEASU) has vowed not call off its nationwide strike until all it demands are met.
Although the Federal Government has begun negotiations with COEASU, which has led to the release of the N15 billion, the union said that it would review the ongoing strike when its National Executive Council meets in Kano State on the July 18, but insisted that there is no plan to call off the three-week-old strike.
Speaking with newsmen in Minna, the Niger State capital, on Friday, shortly after monitoring the level of compliance by COEASU members, the Niger State College of Education Chapter, on the strike, the Vice President and Zonal Coordinator, North-central of COEASU, Comrade Noel Danlami pointed out that the union has always been moderate in all it demands, but decided to take this hard stance because the union has been pushed to the wall.
While expressing satisfaction with the level of compliance by the state college of education union, Danlami maintained that the issue of calling off the strike was not in anyway on the table for now.
According to him, before embarking on the industrial action, the Federal Government ignored the union, adding that the union painstakingly decided to proceed on the strike as the last option.
“But the good news is that the government has began the process of negotiating with us. The re-negotiations of our 2010 agreement which is part of our grievances is already receiving attention and the pledge of the release of N15 billion revitalization fund for colleges of educations in the country had also been met.
“Other issues of agitations are being considered, but this is not to say that we have arrived at the Promised Land, but we are making progress, and we hope that the Federal Government see reasons to meet our demands,” he said.
The College of Education, Minna branch Chairman of COEASU, Comrade Ibrahim Mohammed Hassan, said that the union would continue to ensure full compliance of the strike as long as it lasted, adding that “we have no problem in the College here, but we are only complying with National directives”.
Other demands of the union are non-payment of responsibility allowance to Librarian in Colleges of Education, poor funding of Colleges of Education and poor condition of state-owned Colleges of Education and above all, the Federal Government’s recalcitrant insistence on IPPIS against more reliable alternative of UTAS.