APC Leader Condemns Sack Threat as ‘military-era tactics’

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• APC Slams FG For Sack Threat Against University Lecturers
• APC Described the resort to as ‘military-era tactics’

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The All Progressives Congress (APC) has slammed the Federal Government of Nigeria (FG) for issuing a sack threat against striking university teachers.

The opposition party described the resort to ‘military-era tactics’ as a reflection of the government’ poverty of ideas in resolving the prolonged Academic Staff Union of Universities strike.

In a statement issued in Lagos on Sunday by the party’s spokesperson, Mr. Lai Mohammed, the party criticized the Supervising Minister of Education, Mr. Nyesom Wike, for talking down on the striking teachers, while issuing the ill-advised, ‘go-back-to-work-or-be-sacked’ threat.

”Wike’s language was crude, his presentation was rude and his threat was demeaning and counter-productive. We believe his lack of finesse and the inability to think out of the box in handling the whole strike issue will not bode well for a quick resolution of the crisis.

”We also disagree with the Minister’s inference that the lecturers should automatically call off the strike because the President intervened and sat for long hours with them. It is this unnecessary deification of a democratically-elected President that has almost turned this President into an Emperor,” the statement read.

The party also said that it was unfortunate that Wike can be threatening to sack university teachers at a time there was a shortfall of 60,000 lecturers in Nigerian universities.

It said ASUU was right in demanding certain benchmarks, including the non-victimization clause and the need for a senior government official, like the Attorney-General, to sign the agreement, before calling off its strike, in view of the fact that the FG has a history of reneging on its agreements.

The APC called on the government to resolve the issues at stake once and for all to avoid recurrence of strikes.

”The onus rests on the FG to work with ASUU to resolve this lingering crisis. President Jonathan should get off his high horse, roll up his sleeves as Presidents elsewhere do and tackle squarely what has now become one of the biggest challenges facing his administration.

”However, if the Jonathan administration has run out of ideas, as we now fear it has, going by the infantile threats being issued by it, then let it hands off the negotiations and allow other stakeholders to find a way out. We are all stakeholders in the education of our youths,” the opposition party said.