FG, ASUP Move to Seal 2010 Renegotiation Agreement
Kuni Tyessi in Abuja
The federal government and the Academic Staff Union of Polytechnics (ASUP) have begun the 2010 renegotiation agreement process.
This was even as the various unions in the sector converged on the National Board for Technical Education (NBTE) liaison office in Abuja yesterday to deliberate on issues on infrastructure, staff welfare and policy reforms among others.
The unions include: Senior Staff Association of Nigerian Polytechnics (SSANP) and the National Association of Staff Union of Polytechnics (NASUP).
The Chairman of the renegotiation committee, Waziri Bulama, yesterday said all the issues tendered by the different unions were similar and generic and would be tackled headlong towards promoting technical education in the country.
He pledged the willingness and commitment of the government and other stakeholders in addressing the issues, noting that at the end of the day, agreements will be reached and signed for implementation by the parties involved.
According to him, “Over the last one year, committee of chairmen of councils has been meeting to encourage the government to improve funding and get laws involved in governing the various institutions.
“NBTE and other stakeholders are committed to ensuring that polytechnic education gets the pride of place it deserves and ensuring that the economy which is in need of skilled hands to work in its factories to see the growth of the economy is needed.
“There’s a commitment to ensure that the agreements are put in place and respected by all parties and also signed at the end of the day.”
In his speech, the President of ASUP, Mr. Anderson Ezeibe, said the unions would remain optimistic in their zeal to defend the fading glory of technological education in Nigeria.
He called on President Muhammadu Buhari to give his accent to the issue of the dichotomy which has been passed in order to bring an end to the discrimination between bachelor and HND.
Ezeibe said: “There’s no such thing as right time. The various sectors all have their issue. It’s a positive development, and they were optimistic that the government has resumed discussions with the polytechnic unions.
“It’s a collective bargaining process and not about whether we have confidence in the government to operate above board.
“We will continue to be optimistic that the government will honour its agreements with the unions and defend the fading glory of technological education in Nigeria.”
