By Agiya Yakubu Yaki with agency report
The President of the Academic Staff Union of Polytechnics (ASUP), Dr. Chibuzor Asomugha, said yesterday that the Federal Government stopped paying the striking lecturers since March 21.
ASUP had been on strike since June, 2013, to press on the government to increase its allowances and to stop discriminating polytechnic graduates from university graduates.
Speaking on the “no-work-no pay rule”, Asomugha said the policy forced the union to devise other measures of sustaining its members.
He accused the Supervising Minister of Education, Chief Nyesom Wike, of “working at cross purposes with the union in the ongoing action, instead of addressing the issues surrounding it.”
The ASUP president said the minister was not doing enough to resolve the face-off between the union and the government, which led to the strike.
Asomugha said government had failed to keep to its promises.
He said President Goodluck Jonathan was kept in the dark on the union’s action, saying ASUP had lost confidence in the minister.
He, however, expressed hope that the Minister of Labour Chukwuemeka Wogu-led negotiating committee set up by President Jonathan would end the strike.
