The House of Representatives has knocked the Chairman, Academic Staff Union of Universities, Prof Emmanuel Osodeke, for accusing the Speaker, Femi Gbajabiamila, of deceiving the university lecturers into calling off their eight-month strike.
Chairman of the House Committee on Media and Public Affairs, Benjamin Kalu, in a statement issued on Wednesday, also stated that at no time did Gbajabiamila agreed with ASUU that lecturers would be paid for the period they downed tools.
In the statement titled ‘House of Representatives Response to Osodeke’s Allegations of Deception against Mr. Speaker,’ Kalu pointed out that the Federal Government legitimately withheld the salaries for the period universities were shut down.
ASUU had begun an indefinite strike on February 14, 2022. Gbajabiamila had led the intervention in the lingering crisis between the government and the lecturers, leading to the calling off of the strike in October.
The House is, however, faulting some of the claims made by the ASUU president in his recent media interview.
