The Committee of Pro-Chancellors of State-owned Universities
(COPSUN) has taken drastic steps on members of Academic Staff Union of
Universities (ASUU) in the state institutions.
COPSUN said its decisions were based on the recent comment
made by the President of ASUU, Prof. Emmanuel Osodeke, on Thursday August 25,
on a television programme on Arise, where he said that state universities are
“irrelevant and quacks”.
In a press release signed by the Secretary, COPSUN, Marcus
Awobifa on Monday said membership of ASUU is voluntary.
“Therefore, it is not his ill-informed approach and denigration of state universities that will lead to fashioning out creative approaches to avoid existential extinction that will solve the myriad of problems confronting the University system in Nigeria.”
According to COPSUN, the “very unfortunate ill digested view
of the President of ASUU has vindicated the position of this Committee on the
following issues:
“The negative professionalisation of offices of the Unions
that operate in our Universities and the unserious belief among many members of
the Unions that the Unions are superior to the Councils of the Universities
that are their employers.”
The committee concluded on the need to democratise the
membership of ASUU in the universities to the extent of the freedom of any
individual to belong to a union with options of not belonging.
“Devolution of powers on the issues of labour, wages and
salaries with freedom of the employers to negotiate with their employees, as it
is practiced in other parts of the world, where we borrowed the University
system.
“State Universities cannot be forced or coerced to implement
agreements reached between the Federal Government and her workers in the
Universities to which they are not parties.
“It is time to respect the federal nature of our government
in all matters and not selectively, especially on the issues of salaries and
wages,” he said.
Reacting to the statement made by Professor Osodeke, he
noted that its first response was to ignore “this tendentious, ill conceived
and flagrant unconscionable statement by the President of ASUU, but on
reflection, it was thought necessary to do a rejoinder to this rather
unfortunate statement having regard to the position of the President of ASUU in
the scheme of things in our University system in Nigeria.”
COPSUN said it takes the statement as insulting,
contemptuous and unbecoming for the President of ASUU to state that its
esteemed members who are retired Ambassadors, retired Generals in the Armed
forces, retired Vice-Chancellors, Senior Advocates of Nigeria, renowned
politicians and other distinguished professionals are presiding over quack and
inconsequential universities.
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