Strike: ASUU gives FG three-week ultimatum to meet demand

The Academic Staff Union of Universities, ASUU, Monday announced its readiness to embark on another round of industrial action following the ‘government’s unfaithfulness’ in implementation of the Memorandum of Action, MoU, it signed with the union upon which the last strike action was suspended.

Stating the Union’s position after its National Executive Council, NEC, meeting held at the University of Abuja on the 13th and 14th November 2021, the ASUU National President, Professor Emmanuel Osodeke, said governments should be held responsible if they fail to address the issues within three weeks.

Osodeke who gave assurances of the union’s commitment to uphold academic integrity of Nigerian universities, also decried the federal government non commitment in fulfilling its promises.

The ASUU president said despite its meeting with the Minister of Labour and Employment, Dr. Chris Ngige on 14th October 2021, on the major outstanding issues including funding for revitalization of public universities, earned academic allowances, University Transparency Accountability Solution, UTAS, promotion arrears, renegotiation of 2009 ASUU-FGN agreement, and the inconsistencies in IPPIS payment, the issues are still lingering.

“ASUU is fully committed to upholding academic integrity in our universities and working to make them more globally competitive. We are equally committed to promoting industrial harmony in the Nigerian University System for as long as all stakeholders are willing and committed to play their parts.

“We call on all Vice-Chancellors, as the main drivers of the system, to join us in this mission to safeguard the waning image of our universities. They have no business trading honorary degrees and academic positions for personal and immediate gains; thereby smearing the collective integrity of committed scholars and other patriots who are working day and night to uplift the system that produced them.

“Our union shall not shy away from taking the fight to administrators of Nigerian universities as well as internal and external agents who are and external agents who are bent on compromising the standard ASUU has consistently laboured to protect and improve.

“It is painful that our Union may soon have no other way of securing the implementation of FGN-ASUU collectively bargained agreements and redressing the criminal neglect of welfare issues of our members by State Governors. Governments of
Nigerian should be held responsible should ASUU be forced to activate the strike it patriotically suspended,” he said.