ASUU STRIKE: i INSIDE THE SENATE AND MOTION

ON ASUU STRIKE Today, Wednesday 23rd of October 2013, the Senate in plenary took the 1st Reading of the following Bills: i. Federal Capital Territory University of Science and Technology (Est.etc) Bill 2013 (SB. 375). Sponsor - Sen. Smart Adeyemi ii. Electoral Act 2010 (Amendment) Bill 2013 (SB.379). Sponsor - Sen. Alkali Jajere. iii. Nigeria Films and Video Censored Board Act (amendment) Bill 2013 (SB. 380). Sponsor - Sen. Enyinnaya Abaribe. iv. Marriage Act (repeal and Re-enactment) Bill 2013 (SB.381). Sponsor -Sen. Domingo Obende. v. .Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria 1999(alteration ) Bill 2013(SB.382). Sponsor - Sen. Anthony Adeniyi. The Senate also received the following reports as laid before it: i. Report of the Committee on Establishment and Public Service on the National Assembly Service Commission (Repeal and Re-enactment) Bill 2013. ii. Report of the Committee on Investment on the Local Industry Patronage Bill 2013. The request of Mr President for the confirmation of Engr. Ubale Ahmed Shehu Maska as an Executive Commissioner in the Nigerian Communications Commission was received and referred to the Committee on Communications. The Senate then considered a motion titled 'Appeal to Academic Staff Union of Universities to call off the Strike Action and Return to Work'. The Chairman of the Committee on Education - Sen. Uche Chukwumerije lead the debate on the motion after the motion was moved by the Senate Leader. Sen. Chukwumerije gave the background history of the incidents leading up to the strike starting from the 2007 agreement between the Federal Government and ASUU. The Senators generally debated the different stances of both parties to the agreement leading to the ASUU Strike which has left students staying at home for months. Sen. Abdul Ningi in his speech noted that it is a moral duty to know that once agreements are reached and signatures appended, parties are bound by their obligations under the agreement. He appealed that ASUU returns back to the classrooms on the guarantee that the FGN will honour its obligations; and suggested that the Senate and in fact, the National Assembly should serve as a guarantor to the implementation of this agreement, since they appropriate all federal funds. In same line, Sen. Sekibo and other Senators that spoke, while trying not to apportion blames, appealed to the striking lecturers to go back to school while they work out the details. They all however had a general consensus that agreements are made to be kept and should be kept. The Senate President at the end of the lengthy debate on the issue noted that the essence of the motion is to find a way forward, to offer a solution and not to apportion blames. He appealed to all parties involved to be ready to shift ground, as it might be impossible to reach a settlement where the both parties aren't ready to compromise. He begged ASUU on behalf of the Senate to come back to work. He conceded that Nigerians have seen their perspective, but that if they extend their strike beyond this, they will begin to loose public sympathy. On the ASUU agreement, he stated that when a leader says he must accomplish this, he is morally duty bound to accomplish it. He also attacked the competence of the negotiators sent to e FGN with ASUU. He stated that ASUU took advantage of the ignorance of those people sent to negotiate. He noted it is obvious that the agreement is a difficult piece of paper to implement. He made a passionate appeal to all the parties involved to come to a compromise. The Senate made the following resolutions: 1. Appealed to the striking lecturers to suspend the strike and return too work to prevent further devaluation of the country's educational fortunes. 2. Mandated the committee education to liaise with the Federal ministry of Education, the National Universities Commission, the Academic Staff Union of Universities and all other relevant stakeholders to proffer lasting solution to stem further strikes in the education sector. 3. Urged the Senate President and Chairman of the National Assembly to engage Mr President and the leadership of ASUU with a view to finding a lasting solution to end the strike.