INEC Meets ASUU On Friday, Considers Recalling Ex-Corps Members For Election Duty

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 time line.

Source:- Thisdaylive