BREAKING: COEASU Suspends 2-month-old Strike

The Colleges of Education Academic Staff Union (COEASU) has suspended its two-month-old nationwide strike.

The union in a communique jointly signed by the president, Dr Smart Olugbeko, and the general secretary, Dr Ahmed Lawan Bazza, on Friday in Abuja, said the strike action was suspended for a cool-off-period of 60 days to give the government the opportunity to perfect the progress made so far into tangible achievements that are acceptable to the union.

The strike, which was started on June 10, 2022, was suspended following the meeting of the National Executive Committee (NEC) of the Union held at Ukeje Hall, National Commission for Colleges of Education (NCCE) headquarters in Abuja earlier on Wednesday, August 10, 2022.

COEASU said its NEC shall reconvene to re-assess the status of the issues and decide the way forward when the 60 days period elapse.

The communique reads in part, “NEC noted with cautious satisfaction that significant improvement has been achieved on the issues which informed the roll-over of the national strike action.

“The federal government has yielded to the unions demand for the constitution of a committee of critical stakeholders including but not limited to representatives of the Union, to, among others, draw modalities for the disbursement of the revitalization fund of fifteen billion naira (N15b) only to COEs without further delay.

“Renegotiation of COEASU-FGN 2010 agreement on which the government has been dilly-dallying over time eventually commenced and the union is satisfied by the progress made so far.

“The commendable actions of some State Governments namely Imo, Kwara, Osun, and Oyo States towards the resolution of lingering issues in their respective colleges of education while meaningful talks are ongoing on others with outstanding issues, notwithstanding the need for pressure on a few recalcitrant ones.”

On the state of the nation, the Union decried the high level of insecurity in the country as evident with the increase in the spate of kidnapping, banditry, killings, and other social vices.

COEASU NEC, therefore, called on government at all levels to address the situation more proactively by beefing up security on all campuses, as the system is being reopened for teaching and learning, and across the nation in general.