ASUU Issues New 21-Day Strike Notice To FG
The Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) has issued a 21-day ultimatum to the Federal Government for a planned nationwide strike.
The notice stems from resolutions made during the union’s national executive council meeting, which took place over the weekend at the University of Ibadan.
While the union has not yet officially announced its decision, a senior member disclosed in an interview that the lecturers agreed to give the Federal Government a 21-day notice before proceeding with the planned industrial action.
In July this year, ASUU threatened to launch an indefinite strike due to the Federal Government’s failure to implement the renegotiated 2009 agreement.
The Chairman of the ASUU Gashua branch in Yobe State, Melemi Abatcha, in a press briefing at Damaturu, the state capital in July, outlined funding for the revitalization of Nigerian public universities, and the renegotiation of the 2009 agreement as the major issues plaguing the educational sector.
“Funding for the revitalization of Nigeria public universities i.e. improved infrastructure, conducive teaching/learning environments, students and staff accommodation, equipping of laboratories and libraries. Consequently, the Academic Staff of Nigerian Universities have remained on the same salary structure since 2009.
“Even with the directive of Federal Executive Council (FEC) for removal of ASUU from the Integrated Personnel and Payroll Information System (IPPIS) platform since December 2023 till now, ASUU members are still being paid via the obnoxious platform (IPPIS),” he said in a statement.
Among other issues highlighted include university autonomy, the proliferation of public universities, the backlog of earning academic allowances amounting to N50bn, and the withheld three-and-a-half months’ salaries of its members across the country.
Before that threat, the Minister of Education, Prof. Tahir Mamman, had on June 26, invited the union for a meeting to deliberate on the lingering issues affecting the universities. However, ASUU members say nothing substantial has since been done about their demands.
