ASUU opposed passage of anti-sexual harassment bill - Deputy Senate President

Nigeria's Deputy Senate President, Ovie Omo-Agege has accused members of the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) of strongly opposing passage of the anti-sexual harassment bill in the 8th senate.

The Delta-born senator who reintroduced the bill in the 9th senate, disclosed this while speaking at a policy dialogue on the anti-sexual harrasment bill in Abuja.

Senator Omo-Agege stated that the bill which is at the stage of public hearing in the senate will protect university students from sexual harassment from lecturers as well as other academic and non-academic staff.

He said;

       "During a public hearing on the bill which seeks to protect our children in universities from sexual harassment by lectures, some members of ASUU vehemently opposed the passage of the bill.

“I believe as a matter of character, principle and learning that the student-educator relationship is one of in loco parentis in the same unique class as parenting.

“It is a fiduciary relationship of authority, dependency and trust where the educator, like a good and responsible parent, exercises supervisory responsibilities over the student.

“It is formed on an unwritten code of absolute honour and obligation of good faith, honesty, dignity, and care to be held inviolable.

“No educator has the moral right to exploit the special student-educator relationship for repulsive personal satisfaction.

"No one should be allowed to exploit seeming weaknesses in our existing legal frameworks to make life unbearably for our students, especially our female student.

“As a father, I am confident that I speak for an overwhelming majority of our citizens that sexual predators who operate on our campuses of tertiary education do not represent who we are as a people. We have a duty to stop them."