Acagemic Staff Union of Universities(ASUU), has declared indefinite strike over unresolved and contentious issues with the Federal Government The union declared the indefinite strike at a briefing at Labour House, Abuja. The National President of ASUU, Prof. Biodun Ogunyemi in a text he read while briefing journalists said, “our members across the country were getting increasingly frustrated, distracted and disenchanted.
It became evident that their patience had been tasked beyond reasonable limits and government’s insensitivity imposed severe burden on the leadership of the union “Consequently, based on a nationwide consultation with our members, an emergency meeting of the National Executive Council (NEC) of ASUU rose on Saturday, 12th August, 2017 with a resolution to embark on an indefinite strike action starting from Sunday, 13th August 2017.
“The nationwide action is total and comprehensive. During the strike there shall be no teaching, no examination and no attendance of statutory meetings of any kind in any of our branch. In the bulletin signed by Ogunyemi, it was recalled that ASUU had to embark on a six month strike between July and December 2013 and the strike was suspended when government signed an MoU with the union.
“Of all the items contained in the MoU, only the N200b out of a total of N1.3tr of the Public Universities Revitalisation (Needs Assessment) fund was released,. The union also embarked on a one week warning strike in November 2016 to press for the implementation of 2013 MoU. However government did not implement the understanding reach between the union and Federal Government base on the intervention by the leadership of Senate of the Federal Republic of Nigeria”.
Stating further, Ogunyemi said “The union has also met with the 2009 Agreement Implementation Monitoring Committee, IMC, and had written several letters press releases and communiqués on the outstanding issues to no avail. The National Executive Council, NEC, of ASUU then met at the University of Abuja on August 12, 2017 to consider the result of a referendum from all branches in a bid to ascertain ways of convincing government to implement outstanding aspects of the 2009 and the MoU of 2013”.
Ogunyemi listed the outstanding issues with the Federal Government to include: payment of fractions/non-payment of salaries; non-payment of earned academic allowances, non releases of operational license of NUPEMCO; non implementation of the provisions of the 2014 pension reform act with respect to retired professors and their salaries, removal of universities staff schools from funding by government and funds for the revitalisation of public universities.
(Vanguard)
