The Nigeria Union of Petroleum and Natural Gas Workers (NUPENG) has called on the federal government to immediately resolve all demands of the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) and other unions to avert national solidarity action.
This was made known in a press release jointly signed by William Akporeha, the national president of NUPENG, and Afolabi Olawale, the general secretary on Monday, July 11, 2022.
NUPENG in the statement disclosed that the union is worried and concerned about the prolonged ASUU, the Non-Academic Union of Allied and Education Institutions (NASU), and the Senior Staff Association of Nigerian Universities (SSANU’s) strike that has left activities in Nigeria’s public institutions paralysed for the past five months.
The workers union joined other unions in the country to condemn the lackadaisical attitude of the federal government toward finding a solution to the crisis.
“We are deeply worried that the strike has left thousands of university students stranded and idle, making some of them susceptible to go into various social vices and crimes, thus truncating what otherwise should have been wonderful assets and blessings to our great nation and humanity.
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“This is definitely an unfortunate and a sad commentary on the level of governance and sensitivity of the political leaders. This also without a doubt shows the insensitivity of the current administration and our political leaders towards promoting and projecting good and quality education.
“We are seriously concerned that instead of addressing the nagging issues in the education sector, the unscrupulous politicians are busy campaigning and wasting resources over the 2023 general elections.
“It is against this background that NUPENG demands together with Trade Unions the federal government must immediately address and resolve all demands of ASUU, NASU, and SSANU without any further delay to avert national solidarity action from our members across the country, the statement read in part.
NUPENG affirmed that all the rank and file of its union will align with the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC’s) position on protest against the unfortunate situation in the country’s public tertiary institutions and will not hesitate to join in the proposed nationwide strike should the federal government fail to act fast.
