The National Union of Electricity Employees (NUEE) says it will shut down the power sector of the country should thefederal government and the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) fail to resolve the ongoing crisis in Nigeria’s federal universities in seven days.
ASUU had, on July 1, ordered its members in both federal and state universities to embark on a nationwide strike. The action was called to make the federal government honour an Earned Allowance agreement it signed with the lecturers in 2009.
The lecturers have vowed to continue the strike until the government honours the agreement in full. Mediation attempts have failed as the lecturers continue to stay away from work.
Fed up with the impasse, NUEE said that it could no longer sit back and watch those in positions of authority destroy the future of young Nigerians who have remained at home for months on account of the federal government’s refusal to meet the legitimate demands made by ASUU.
Speaking at a training workshop for labour leaders in the power sector in Enugu, the General Secretary of NUEE, Joe Ajaero, said that electricityworkers across the country would be directed to join other progressive labour unions “to shut down the country” as a way of expressing anger over the ongoing strike.
“We can no longer sit back and watch this disturbing drama going on between the Federal government and ASUU. If the strike is not addressed within the next one week, NUEE and other progressive unions will shut down the country,” he said.
“It is unfortunate that those in power are not bothered about the closure of the universities. They are less concerned because none of their children are studying in Nigerian universities.
“Their children are overseas just as they travel overseas for medical attention because they have allowed our hospitals to die. Whether our children are out of school or not they are not bothered but we are going to join our children to stay at home from next week.
“Our public institutions are dead because those unpatriotic leaders have nothing to do with them but when they are banned from travelling overseas to access improved facilities, they will have no option than to look inward and address our numerous challenges.”