The Academic Staff Union of Universities has warned that it may go on an indefinite strike due to the Federal Government’s failure to honor a 2009 agreement.
The Bauchi Zonal Coordinator of ASUU, Prof. Timothy Namo, made this announcement during a news conference in Jos on Friday.
He said the union’s National Executive Council met from August 17 to August 18 and decided to issue a 21-day ultimatum to the government.
Namo stated, “As we speak, the government has not honored any of the agreements or addressed our concerns. At the expiration of the 21-day ultimatum, we again issued another 14-day ultimatum that commenced from September 23. So, we want Nigerians to blame the federal government if ASUU decides to down tools and shut down public universities.”
He listed several ongoing issues that have led to this threat, including:
- Non-completion of the re-negotiation of the 2009 agreement.
- Non-release of three-and-a-half months’ salaries of academic staff.
- Unpaid salaries for all academic staff on adjunct appointments.
- Outstanding third-party deductions.
Namo also pointed out that there are additional problems, such as:
- Poor funding for the revitalization of public universities.
- Non-payment of Earned Academic Allowances as stated in the 2023 budget.
- Proliferation of universities.
- Non-implementation of reports from visitation panels to universities.
The union is calling on the Federal Government to take immediate action to resolve these issues and fulfill the agreements made with ASUU. If not addressed, ASUU is prepared to proceed with its planned strike, which would significantly impact public universities across the country.
