- Southern, Middle Belt leaders urge electoral body to resist manipulation
By Adedayo Akinwale, Shola Oyeyipoin Abuja and Segun James in Lagos
Following the
failure of the federal government to find a lasting solution to the
lingering strike by public university lecturers, the Independent
National Electoral Commission (INEC) has decided to hold a consultative
meeting with the lecturers’ union, the Academic Staff Union if Nigerian
Universities (ASUU) on January 4, ahead of the 2019 polls, THISDAY has
learnt.
The meeting, according to the electoral body, will be limited to the involvement of their members in the 2019 general elections.
ASUU
had last month embarked on industrial action to protest the poor
funding of Nigerian universities and alleged plan by the federal
government to increase students’ fees and introduce an education bank.
But
INEC had raised the alarm that the lingering ASUU strike would no doubt
have serious impact on the preparations for the conduct of the 2019
elections.
“They
are one critical resource and their absence will have adverse effects
on the ad hoc staff requirement of INEC,” the commission had said.
Speaking
on the issue, INEC National Commissioner and Chairman Voter Education
and Publicity, Mr. Festus Okoye, told THISDAY that the commission is
hopeful and positive that its scheduled meeting with the leadership of
ASUU and the leadership of other unions in federal tertiary institutions
would yield the desired result.
According
to him, “ASUU leadership and the leadership of the commission led by
the Chairman, Professor Mahmood Yakubu, will hold a consultative meeting
with the leadership of ASUU on the 4th day of January 2019.
“The
scheduling of the meeting is a clear indication that both parties are
concerned and determined to find a middle ground that will enable the
members of ASUU to continue their additional services to the country.
“The
commission wants to emphasise that the meeting with the various unions
will be limited to the involvement of their members in the 2019 general
elections and how to manage the current industrial action for it not to
affect the patriotic contributions of staff and students in the
electoral process.
“The
desire and wish of the commission is that the staff and students of
federal tertiary institutions should be in school at least a month
before the 2019 general election.
“Based
on this, the commission has appealed and is still appealing to all the
parties involved in the negotiations to consider the overall interest of
the nation and negotiate in good faith.”
Asked
if the electoral umpire was seeking alternatives should the federal
government and ASUU failed to reach a compromise, Okoye noted that the
commission was confident that all the parties involved in the dispute
and negotiations would negotiate and resolve the issues expeditiously
and in good faith.
He
said it was also incumbent on the various stakeholders in the electoral
process to nudge the parties towards a negotiated settlement of the
issues that led to the industrial action in the various tertiary
institutions.
The
national commissioner added that the conduct of election is a
multi-stakeholder venture and the success of the election would be in
the best interest of all Nigerians.
Okoye said, “However, in the unlikely event of the strike action lingering beyond the projected timeline.
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