ASUU: We won’t suspend strike until FG pays withheld salaries

 The Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) has insisted that it would not call off its ongoing strike until the federal government pays all withheld salaries of its members.

ASUU had reportedly agreed to suspend its nearly nine-month strike after the federal government promised to release N70 billion as earned allowance to the union.

The union had also said it would communicate the federal government’s offer to its members before announcing its stance on the lingering strike.

But according to PUNCH, Biodun Ogunyemi, ASUU president, said the federal government should not expect lecturers to resume work without paying their withheld salaries.

Ogunyemi also said the union will make its report public later this week after its consultations.

He added that the union is currently working based on the timeline given to it by the federal government to pay the withheld salaries.

“We are still consulting; we have not finished consultation, by the end of this week we shall make our report public. There are promises government made with dates,” he said.

“Government promised to release salaries of our members. The withheld salaries have not been paid and we need to have information on that. Government should not expect us to resume without releasing our salaries.”

The ASUU president also said he cannot single-handedly decide if the ongoing strike should be suspended or not, adding that members of the union would meet to take a decision.

“I can’t vouch for anything about resumption, but my members will determine that. The only thing I know is that payment of withheld salaries can smoothen the process and that is what we have told the government. It will aid the final decision,” he added.

“The government gave a timeline and we are monitoring, once the timeline expires this week, our members will take a final decision. If they pay the withheld salaries, it will make the process easier to handle.”

The union had embarked on an indefinite strike in March over non-implementation of agreements and resolutions the federal government reached with it in 2009.

TheCable had earlier examined how the incessant industrial actions embarked upon by the union since 1999 have forced students out of school for over four years.

- THECABLE

90-year-old woman first to receive Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine in UK

 

Margaret Keenan, a 90-year-old woman, is the first to receive Pfizer’s COVID-19 vaccine in the UK.

The UK began a mass vaccination programme against the infection on Tuesday.

The vaccine will be administered on the elderly first, and about 70 hospitals have been primed to participate in the programme.

The programme is aimed at protecting the most vulnerable.

The UK is the first country to use the vaccine which offers 95 percent protection against COVID-19.

On December 3, the country’s MHRA, the health regulator, approved a mass rollout of the vaccine.

The UK is among the worst COVID-19 hit countries in the world.

Boris Johnson, the prime minister, had imposed a lockdown twice to slow down the spread of the infection.

 - THECABLE

Nigerian, Cameroonian arrested in bid to smuggle cobras, vipers to UK

 Cameroonian customs said Monday they had arrested two men for trying to smuggle 80 cobras and vipers to London on a commercial flight.

The suspects, a Cameroonian national and a Nigerian, were arrested 4 December at Douala International Airport for using fake papers to clear their cargo , customs service spokesman Jean-Claude Ekoube told AFP.

The dangerous snakes were being transported in wooden boxes marked “Venomous”.

The men were booked on an Air France flight to London via Paris.

According to Journal du Cameroon, the poisonous snakes spread out in two boxes which equally contained lizards.

Customs officials said they were attracted to the wooden boxes because they had holes all over.

When questioned, the passenger carrying them along, a Cameroonian accompanied by a customs clearance officer said the boxes contained animals.

The customs officials asked to see the documents authorizing him to travel out of the country with the reptiles.

After declaring that he captured the animals in Buea, South West region of Cameroon, the man purportedly presented a false authorization given him by the Ministry of Forestry and Wild Life.

The reptiles were seized and he and the said customs clearance officer accompanying him arrested.

The Journal du Cameroon did not report that a Nigerian was also arrested.

- PM NEWS