The Federal Government has been called upon by the Academic Staff Union of Polytechnics to wage war against insecurity and inflation in the country.
ASUP made the call in a statement issued and signed by its National Publicity Secretary, Abdullahi Yalwa, at the end of its National Executive Council meeting at the Federal Polytechnic, Auchi, Edo State.
The statement read in part: “NEC appreciates President Muhammadu Buhari for approving N15 billion as revitalisation fund for Polytechnics and Colleges of Technology in Nigeria and also appealed to him to direct the immediate release of the fund to enable the sector enjoy the benefit of addressing critical infrastructure deficits.
“NEC calls on the government at all levels to address the terrible state of security across the country and the disturbing threats to lives of citizens amplified by attacks on staff and students across all strata of education in the country.
“NEC calls on the government to do the needful to bring down prices of foodstuff and other essential items by putting in place strategies to support local production through revitalisation of industries and more robust soft loans for Nigerians interested in farming and other legitimate businesses.
“NEC calls on the government at all levels to address the deplorable condition of roads in some parts of the country by fixing the bad roads and opening up new roads to network the communities across the country.
“NEC calls on the government and other stakeholders in technological education to as a matter of urgency ensure the compliance with the provisions of the 2019 amended Polytechnic Act in all institutions for the purposes of uniformity in quality and standards.
“NEC calls on the Federal Government to settle the 10 months arrears of the national minimum wage in federal polytechnics, to avoid further devaluation of the money, and that all state governments yet to implement the minimum wage as well as non-payment of arrears should do so without further delay.
“NEC calls on state governments to desist from using any tactics to avert or undermine the financial autonomy of the local government.”