the Vice Chancellor addressing medical students earlier today
The Vice Chancellor Of Benue State University Makurdi, Prof Charity Angya has disclosed that the 4-month old strike action embarked upon by the Academic Staff Union of Universities, ASUU will end next week after an agreement between the state government and the union.
She made this known while addressing medical students who were protesting the death of their colleague, Idoko Nicholas Ejugwu.
Idoko died in a car crash under controversial circumstances following the news of his withdrawal from medical school after spending 10 years.
The Vice Chancellor said the Governor, Dr Samuel Ortom was doing everything to ensure that the strike was called off.
“The Governor sent people here. We were here yesterday till about 4pm. We rose from here to government house. We were there till night before I left, I didn’t eat anything.”
“We were there all this time because Governor was trying to see how he can pacify ASUU. He has gone ahead to enter into an agreement with ASUU; an agreement that is so unrealistic but what do you do?”
“The good news on this side, is that, what Governor talked with ASUU yesterday and their meeting on Monday, I believe that that will end this strike. Because he made whatever commitment they wanted.”
“Truth is that the government is trying everything. They have come to an agreement and the union too said they will give them time, set out timelines as to when they will honour whatever they have agreed and they are going back on Monday to talk so that the school will be reopened. For me, I believe it, I’ve been praying, I’ve been fasting.”
She explained that monies meant for the final accreditation of the medical was already released and if not for the ASUU strike, it would have been done.
“We have this problem with the union, and I don’t have money to pay salaries. With the best will in the world, I don’t have. Even if you put a knife to my throat, I can bring money to pay salaries, because our salaries take over two hundred and something million a month. What you people pay as IGR is about 1.1 billion in an entire year and that is what we use to run this university.”
The vice chancellor earlier expressed regret over the loss of the medical student and said the university was going to give him a befitting burial and also compensate the family.
She also promised to set up a panel to look into other grievances of the medical students and assured them that there will henceforth be no withdrawal of clinical students in the institution.
Earlier, the President of the Benue State University Medical Students Association, BESUMSA, Comrade Agbulu Moses said the students were deeply sad about the loss of their colleague who died an avoidable death. He decried the way exams were handled, where resit exams which ordinary was to be completed within six weeks, was extended to upwards of one year for no just reason.
Comrade Agbulu also lamented the incessant withdrawal of students and manipulation of results, all of which the vice chancellor promised to bring an end to.
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