The Academic Staff Union of Universities has issued a 21-day ultimatum to the Federal Government over what it called unresolved issues with them.
Addressing the press in Michael Okpara University of Agriculture Umudike, Wednesday, the President of ASUU, Emmanuel Osodeke highlighted the issues to include “emergency revitalisation fund of public universities; payment of outstanding earned academic allowances; and release of withheld salaries, promotion arrears, and third-party deductions of our members.”
Osodeke said the other issues include stoppage of illegal recruitments; proliferation of public universities/abuse of universities’ laws, regulations and processes; and removal of universities from the treasury single account and new IPPIS vis-a-vis to herald the autonomy of our universities”.
He explained that the Academic Staff Union of Universities held its National Executive Council meeting at the University of Ibadan, Ibadan, between Saturday 17 and August 18, 2024, where the union undertook a comprehensive review of the outcomes from its engagements with Federal and State Governments on various outstanding issues that have encumbered the development of Nigerian universities and “hindered university workers’ drive to reposition them for the transformation of Nigeria.”
He stated, “The meeting further appraised worsening living and working conditions in our universities and the nation at large. The meeting received alarming reports on the failed promises of the Government to address the lingering issues that forced the union to embark on the nationwide strike action of February-October 2022.
“Seasoned and experienced scholars have continued to flee to countries that are less resource-endowed, but where their expertise is better appreciated. Reports presented to NEC indicate that the government does not appreciate the enormity of the problem and the dire need to arrest the ugly trend with utmost urgency.
“Our union is worried that Government appears fixated on its self-serving approach of legalistic and bureaucratic arm-twisting.”
The union regretted that “university issues over which ASUU has been engaging Federal and State Governments in the last decade or so are yet to be meaningfully addressed. These issues include review and signing of the renegotiated 2009 FGN-ASUU Agreement; impactful funding”, and therefore resolved:
“After extensive deliberations on the foregoing, among others, ASUU-NEC at its last meeting resolved to condemn in strong terms the seeming refusal of Federal and State Governments to decisively address all outstanding issues with ASUU, reject the slow pace of intervention by the Minister for Education in resolving the aforementioned issues, give the government 21 days ultimatum to address all outstanding issues, and reconvene at the expiration of the 21 days’ notice to take appropriate decision(s) as deemed necessary,” he added.
ASUU expressed its belief in the national dialogue while shoving off “ethnic suspicion, religious bigotry, plutocratic tendencies and such other practices that are inimical to our peaceful co-existence and collective happiness as a people of one nation”
