The strike action embarked upon by the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU), Kogi State University has started taking its toll on the institution.
The non-Academic staff of the University had earlier joined other tertiary institutions in a strike action called by the Joint Action Committee (JAC) comprising all the Tertiary institutions in the State.
There was however mixed feelings among students concerning the strike, while some expressed gratitude to ASUU for allowing them to finish their examinations before embarking on the indefinite strike, others who are on their thesis or final year first degree project work lamented their plight as their supervisors have joined the industrial action.
The union had declared an indefinite strike last Friday demanding the immediate reconstitution of the university’s governing council and the payment of eight months arrears of salaries to all categories of academic staff.
Addressing reporters in Lokoja, the chairman of the union Dr. Daniel Aina explained that the absence of governing council for more than one year had affected the institution negatively that it could no longer function statutorily.
“In view of the demand for the immediate reconstitution of the university’s Governing Council, recent developments on our campus suggest that the lack of the council appear to be a ploy to erode the university autonomy which stands it out from all other institutions. ASUU-KSU will resist this.
“The ASUU chief lamented government’s allocation to the university for infrastructural development saying this is not up to the quarter of what came from the TETFund intervention which itself is a product of ASUU struggle.”
The state commissioner for education, Sunday Tolorunleke, accused the union of impatience saying the voucher for their salary has been prepared.
