By our Reporter
Comrade Anderson Ezeibe,the National President of Academic Staff Union of Polytechnics has said the Union is making progress on the on-going dialogue with the government since it embarked on strike on the 6th April,2021.
He said the purpose of the strike was to draw the attention of the government to the deplorable state of our public Polytechnics and Monotechnics adding that the strike hopes to a facilitate a reversal of the fortunes of the institutions and placing them on a strong pedestal towards meeting their obligations to
the Nigerian people.
The industrial action, currently in its 10th day has witnessed strong compliance levels by
Chapters of our Union across the nation and has led to some knee jerk reactions from the
government both at the Federal and State levels.
Accordong to the President,the Union has been involved in 2 out of 3 scheduled meetings with the Federal Government as represented by top officials of the Federal Ministry of Education as well as Labour and Employment on the 6th and 14th of April, 2021 saying the third meeting scheduled for 15th of April was postponed to a later date due to the unavailability of the Chairman,the Honorable Minister of Labour and Employment,Dr Chris Ngige saying the agreed date shall be communicated to the parties after confirmation with the relevant agencies expected at
the meeting.
He briefed that past meetings as held on the 6th and 14th of April 2021 has resulted to some significant
outcomes even as we continue to press for appropriate documentations and practical steps for those demands requiring immediate action.
In addition,he explain that the industrial action led to the setting up of Governing Councils for all Federal
Polytechnics and due to be inaugurated on the 20th of April, 2021 saying this is expected to complete the governance structures in all Federal Polytechnics in the country and therefore ensure the conclusion of stalled staff appraisal processes and appointment of
principal officers in affected institutions amongst others.
Other issues of unqualified rector appointed to newly established Polytechnics and other issue will be resolved in due course.