The Academic Staff Union of Universities, ASUU, has accused the federal government of taking money round campuses to influence some lecturers to abandon the six-month old strike embarked upon by the union.

Making this allegation during a television programme, the chairman of the University of Lagos chapter of ASUU, Karo Ogbinaka, said the union was aware that some agents of the government have been going round the campuses to influence lecturers to abandon the strike.

Ogbinaka condemned the federal government for trying to break the strike by trying to influence some lecturers rather than addressing the issues. “Government is just changing its tactics by bribing members to break the strike. That won’t resolve the issue. Rather than address the issue, they are attempting to break the strike,” he said.

A congress scheduled for today by the Union at UNILAG was shifted till tomorrow to address this and other issues. Ogbinaka said the move to break the ranks of the lecturers by influencing them with money will fail.

He also flayed the government for sponsoring market women to protest against the striking lecturers. Ogbinaka said the move will ultimately fail because the lecturers are resolute.

The federal government last week issued the university lecturers a 4 December ultimatum to resume classes or be sacked. But ASUU described the threat as a big joke.

The union has asked parents to ignore government’s directive for students to resume at their various universities because lecturers are still on strike.

The union asked parents to keep their children at home pending the resolution of the dispute between the government and the lecturers. [PMNews]