Recall that the Federal Government restated its threat not to pay any of its employees on strike or absent from duty post without due authorisation. Minister of Labour and Employment, Sen Chris Ngige, said government had decided to apply the “No-work, No Pay” policy in compliance with Section 43 of the Labour Law.

His words: “Anybody on strike now will not be paid in consonance with Section 43.

Reacting to the threat of invoking the ‘No work-No pay’ clause by the government, the ASUU president has just disclosed that the implication of such a threat is that the best hands would continue to leave the country.

Mr Osodeke gave an instance of the influx of Nigerian doctors to other countries, which he said was a result of a similar threat by the government.

He said: “He (Mr Ngige) declared that with doctors when they were on strike. What happened? They left. We are now paying for that mouthing by Ngige. That thing he said, Nigeria is paying heavigly for it as the doctors are leaving.

“If he continues with what he is saying, at the end of the day, the good hands, the good professors will leave the country, then we will pay the price.

“It’s just so unfortunate we don’t appoint people that have capacity to reason, to think of the future, to head very critical sectors of the Nigerian state.”

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