THE Alliance on Surviving Covid-19 and Beyond (ASCAB) in a show of solidarity has expressed total support for the ongoing strike by the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) and calling on the union to remain resolute to the end in order to achieve its objectives.
In a letter addressed to the National President of ASUU, Prof Biodun Ogunyemi, ASCAB enjoins ASUU and its members to “remain steadfast to the end and that you are able to gain full implementation of your key demands and previous agreements made with the Government.”
The letter, signed by Atambi Adeh, ASCAB’s National Secretary, waging the strike to its logical conclusion is necessary to ensure that the education sector receives the funding it requires to properly educate the teeming youth.
While calling on ASUU and its members to continue to play an active role in ASCAB and support its statement on trade unions, Adeh said “ASCAB was established to encourage trade unions to take action to ensure that the Government does the necessary to ensure that we can all survive Covid-19 and beyond.”
Part of the letter reads: “We write on behalf of the Alliance on Surviving CoviD-19 and Beyond (ASCAB) to express our solidarity with ASUU and your striking members. Like you, we are shocked that this Government, first elected in 2015 with promises to properly fund education, has failed lamentably.
“As you know, when President Buhari came to power only around half of the UNESCO target of 26 per cent of the national budget was dedicated to education. Since then each year the proportion has fallen further so that less than six per cent is being proposed for education in the 2021 Federal budget.
“ASCAB is an Alliance consisting of over 80 organisation affiliates, and coordinated by the national interim Chair, Comrade Femi Falana SAN. ASCAB was established to encourage trade unions to take action to ensure that the Government does the necessary to ensure that we can all survive Covid-19 and beyond. For this reason, we would be happy to support and participate in town hall meetings organised by ASUU.
We hope that your union and members remain steadfast to the end and that you are able to gain full implementation of your key demands and previous agreements made with the Government. This is necessary to ensure that the education sector receives the funding it requires to educate properly all our teeming youth.”
