ASUU Strike: Baraje Led PDP Faction Begins 7 Days Fasting And Prayer

Worried by the prolonged strike by members of the Academic Staff Union of Universities, ASUU, the Abubakar Kawu Baraje-led new Peoples Democratic Party, nPDP, has commenced a seven-day fasting and prayer starting from today.

To make it very effective, the new PDP has requested all its members worldwide to embark on the exercise, adding that the spiritual intervention was as a result of the concern of the Baraje-led PDP for the plight of parents and university students due to the continued closure of public universities following the strike by the Academic Staff Union of Universities, ASUU.

It added that the move was designed to protest what it described as the Federal Government's failure to keep the agreement it signed with the union in 2009.

Meanwhile, Alhaji Baraje has set up a four-man Committee with Governor Babangida Aliyu of Niger State as Chairman to advise the party on the best way to get the Federal Government's negotiating committee and the leadership of ASUU to reach an agreement on the issues at stake and thus end this three-month-old strike.

Other members of the committee are Governor Murtala Nyako of Adamawa State, Chinwo Ike, President of UNIPORT Alumni, and Mr. Timi Frank, the nPDP National Youth Leader.

The group said: "We sincerely solicit the patience of Nigerians while appealing to the Federal Government and the leadership of ASUU to end this imbroglio so that our children may go back to school instead of engaging in acts inimical to their future.

"The need for this has become urgent as reports reaching us indicate that many of these students have out of frustration and boredom turned to prostitution, armed robbery and other vices due to the prolonged strike.

On its secretariat that was sealed by the police, Eze said: "To the glory of God, contrary to the prayers of Alhaji Bamanga Tukur's faction of PDP, a Federal High Court in Abuja onSeptember 13, 2013, ruled that the Baraje faction of PDP should be allowed to operate without any further harassment or inhibition as it is not breaking any known law. Justice E.S. Chukwu in his ruling held that there was no evidence before the court to show any tardiness on the part of Baraje's faction as claimed by the Tukur-led faction, which requested it to stop the Baraje-led PDP from operating."