Academic Staff Union of Universities, ASUU Extends Strike by Four Weeks

The Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) has extended the ongoing industrial action by four weeks.

The Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) has extended its five-month-long strike by four weeks. The roll-over strike will begin on Monday, August 1st.

Professor Emmanuel Osodeke, President of ASUU, said in a statement on Monday in Abuja that the one-month extension would allow the Government more time to resolve all outstanding issues satisfactorily.

He stated that the decision was made at an emergency National Executive Council (NEC) meeting of ASUU to examine developments since the NEC’s determination to extend its roll-over strike action for another 12 weeks, beginning in May.

Following extensive deliberation and taking into account the Government’s previous failures to adhere to its timelines in addressing issues raised in the 2020 FGN/ASUU Memorandum of Action (MOA), Osodeke stated that the strike would be extended for four weeks to give the Government more time to resolve all outstanding issues satisfactorily.

Specifically, NEC recalled the government’s failure to conclude the process of renegotiating the 2009 FGN/ASUU Agreement, deploy the University Transparency and Accountability Solution (UTAS), and pay outstanding arrears of Earned Academic Allowances (EAA).

They also release the agreed-on sum of money for the revitalization of public universities (Federal and State), address proliferation and governance issues in State Universities, settle promotion arrears, release withheld salaries of academics, and pay outstanding third-party deductions led to the initial declaration of the roll-over strike on 14th February.

The Union wonders why it had taken five months and needless muscle-flexing for government to realize the need for honest engagement.

Nigerian universities must not be reduced to constituency projects that merely exist on paper. Our scholars must be incentivized to stay back and do what they know best in Nigeria.

“NEC appreciated the historic nationwide protest of 26th and 27th July organized by the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) in collaboration with Civil Society Organisations (CSO) to create further awareness on the antics of the Nigerian ruling class to destroy public education.

ASUU renews its commitment to the struggles of NLC in championing the cause of the working and suffering Nigerians.

The National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA) is enjoined to release reports of the latest tests on the University Transparency and Accountability Solution (UTAS) vis-a-vis IPPIS without further delay.

The unceremonious closure of educational institutions in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) following the recent attack on Presidential Guards betrays a panicky measure to address a malignant ailment.

Nothing short of a comprehensive overhaul of the country’s security architecture will sustainably address the problem.

The roll-over strike action is effective from Midnight on 1st August.

Conclusion

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