28th January, 2015
Abiodun Onafuye/Abeokuta
The industrial action embarked upon by teachers in public primary and secondary schools in Ogun State, southwest Nigeria has been suspended.
The Ogun State chapter of the Nigeria Union of Teachers (NUT) on 16 January commenced strike to press home their demand for better welfare.
The suspension came after a successful meeting held between the leadership of the union and representatives of the state government.
Both the Chairman of NUT in the state, Comrade Dare Ilekoya and his counterpart in the Academic Staff Union of Secondary Schools in Nigeria (ASUSS), Comrade Akeem Lasisi, announced the suspension of the strike at a joint press briefing after a congress of the two bodies held at the NUT Hall, Abeokuta.
According to Ilekoya: “We are here today to tell the public that government has decided to call us for discussions. We met and all our issues were looked into.
“The government also agreed to pay the October deductions with immediate effect, while the outstanding payments would be subsequently paid through improved internally generated revenue (IGR). Government also agreed to set up a committee that would involve all parties to review other outstanding issues.
“On this note, we hereby announced the suspension of the industrial action embarked upon by teachers in the state,” the NUT boss said.
On his part, the ASUSS Chairman, Akeem Lasisi, appealed to members to comply with the union’s directive to resume work while stressing that the strike was not politically motivated.
“The action was a pure legitimate fight over our rights and welfare, our action should not be politicised,” Lasisi stated.
He assured members that their sacked colleagues would soon be reinstated based on the discussion with the state government.