From Judex Okoro, Calabar

Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU), Calabar zone, has condemned alleged proscription of Kogi State University chapter of the union by Governor Yahaya Bello.

ASUU described the governor’s action as an executive recklessness.

The union’s Zonal Coordinator, Prof. Nsing Ogar, and seven other chairmen of the universities in the zone, in a statement in Calabar, yesterday, described the governor’s action as capable of throwing the education system into crisis.

According to the statement, the termination of appointment of about 135 lecturers by the governor and the non-payment of workers’ salaries are a reflection of the state’s failure. They, therefore, appealed to well-meaning Nigerians to rein in on the governor.

ASUU said: “We had expected the governor to hearken to the numerous calls from well-meaning Nigerians and take the honourable path of maturely engaging the intellectual workers by addressing their legitimate concerns.

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“However, Bello regrettably doubled down on his depressive approach by terminating the appointment of 135 academic staff, apparently an unprecedented act of gubernatorial recklessness.”

Describing the governor’s action as a monumental injustice and scotch-earth tactics, ASUU warned that the situation was capable of creating crisis in a sector which governments, all over the world, were willing to invest more in. Equally decrying the onslaught against the union members by the Lagos State University (LASU) Vice Chancellor, Prof. Lanre Fagbohun, the union leaders said such war of attrition against ASUU would rather aggravate the crisis than resolving it.

“We can see that the vice chancellor is out to punish the lecturers. The latest in the vice chancellor’s onslaught is the purported dismissal of the chairman, vice chairman and strong members of ASUU LASU on spurious charges.”

The union recalled that the branch chairman of ASUU in the university, Dr. Isaac Oyewumi, was framed up “for the simple reason that the union is taking a principled position against the excesses of the management of the institution and brazen violation of the rules.”

ASUU, therefore, appealed to prominent Nigerians to intervene in the situation as the education system in the country does not need crisis it is currently undergoing.