Lecturers in Nigerian Colleges of Education have extended their ongoing strike by three weeks, The PUNCH reports.

The lecturers, under the aegis of the Colleges of Education Academic Staff Union, attributed their decision to the failure of the government to embrace the union’s preference for the University Transparency Accountability System and failure of state governments to address issues peculiar to state-owned colleges of education.

The union made its position known in a communiqué issued on Wednesday at the end of its National Executive Council meeting.

The communiqué was signed by the union’s National President, Dr Smart Olugbeko; and the General Secretary, Dr Ahmed Lawan.

It read, “Most state governments are yet to address issues locally peculiar to state-owned Colleges of Education, especially in Oyo, Ogun, Kwara, Abia, Kogi, Kaduna, Zamfara, Yobe, Akwa Ibom, Benue, Edo and Ebonyi States. In fact, the situation has further deteriorated in some of these states with enforcement of the draconian rule of ‘no work, no pay’ and victimisation of union leaders.

“The FG is yet to come out clear on the union’s preference for UTAS against the troublesome IPPIS.

“Having submitted the union’s charter of demands to the FG team for the renegotiation, the posture and sincerity of government towards meaningful collective bargaining could not be ascertained until August 2, 2022 when the renegotiation proper begins.”

On the decision to embark on strike, the union said, “While empathetically acknowledging the appeal of critical stakeholders expecting the strike action to be suspended, NEC painstakingly submitted that the timing must be properly calculated based on the foregoing reservations in order to consolidate on the gains of the struggle.

“Therefore, NEC unanimously resolved that the strike action should continue for the next three weeks within which the union hopes that the foregoing reservations should have been addressed.”