Lectures were not held yesterday at the University of Lagos (UNILAG) and the Lagos State University (LASU), Ojo, Lagos, despite the high expectation of resumption of academics in the universities.
The classrooms were locked and only a few students could be seen on the campuses.
The few lecturers on hand did not teach.
At UNILAG, some students were seen registering in the faculties.
The lecturers at the Faculty of Business Administration refused to speak with reporters. They were, however, heard conversing in Yoruba that they would not sign the register opened for them by the university’s authorities.
One of them was overheard, saying: “Did you see The Punch today? The Committee of Pro-Chancellors said vice-chancellors should make sure lecturers sign a register before they are paid. Is that why you are here today? I am not signing anything. Will you?”
When one of them was asked if they had resumed, he said they were always on campus though without teaching.
The lecturer, who spoke in confidence, said: “The job of a lecturer is not only lecturing but carrying out research and doing community work. So, we have been doing that. We don’t just go to class or attend to projects.”
But a Ph.D student said the lecturers were never on campus whenever he brought his project to his supervisor.
“They have not been coming. I have been bringing my project but never met them in the office. I am sure they came today because they were scared that they would be sacked if they didn’t resume,” he said.
The Deputy Registrar, Information and Protocol, Toyin Adegbule, said other workers were not on strike.
“The UNILAG chapter of the Senior Staff Association of Nigerian Universities (SSANU) is not on strike; we are working. Students are registering. So, when the strike is called off, they will not have to spend time on that again,” he said.
Debunking the resumption claims, the UNILAG-ASUU Chairman Dr Oghenekaro Ogbinaka said the registration was a ruse for the government to think that the schools had resumed.
Our reporters, who went round the offices at LASU, said they were locked, including the offices of the principal officers.
The classrooms were empty and some parts of the university were overgrown with weeds.
The Information Unit of the university could not be reached. The offices, including that of the Chief Information Officer, Dr Sola Fosudo, were locked.
The LASU-ASUU chairman Dr Adekunle Idris told reporters that the union complied with the strike.
On Federal Government’s ultimatum, Idris said: “We are not aware of any clandestine move by the management for now. But let me say that the LASU-ASUU is at the forefront of this struggle.
We are as resolute as ever because our members know we are fighting a just cause. Our members are ready for whatever clandestine move that may come from anywhere. We have enough plans to take care of anything that may come up.” Click to signup for FREE news updates, latest information and hottest gists everyday
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