The Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) has disclosed that it will take action in the next 48 hours (starting from Monday) following the Federal Government’s failure to meet its demand.
President of the academic union, Prof. Emmanuel Osodeke, made this disclosure on Monday while speaking with journalists.
He said the union will conclude its consultation with all the various branches across the country and subsequently make its position known.
ASUU had met with Minister of Labour and Employment, Chris Ngige, who served as the Chief conciliator between ASUU and the Federal Ministry of Education on October 14, 2021 on a wide range of issues which included funding for revitalisation of public universities, earned academic allowances, University Transparency Accountability Solution and promotion arrears.
They also spoke about the renegotiation of 2009 ASUU-FGN agreement, and the inconsistencies in Integrated Payroll and Personnel Information System (IPPIS) payment.
The National Executive Council of ASUU had met behind a closed-door at the University of Abuja on November 13 and 14 where the issues were reviewed.
The Federal Government thereafter promised to pay N22.1bn Earned Allowances to university workers, and N30bn as revitalization fund to universities.
The union then gave the FG a three-week ultimatum on the 15th of November saying the way it is handling university lecturers has left them with no choice other than to embark on strike.
Prof. Osodeke described government as unfaithful after failing to implement the Memorandum of Action (MoA) it signed with the union upon which last year’s strike action was suspended.
”Since they (government) didn’t meet our requests, we are going through our normal procedures. We will go through our branches, we are going to be back from them tomorrow.
”From there, whatever comes out of it, we are going to take actions we are supposed to take. Though the principal officers don’t take decisions about strikes, the decisions are taken from bottom to up not up to the bottom.
”Now that our ultimatum has expired, we are going back to them (branches), what they ask us to do, we will do; whatever actions they say we should take, we will take.”
On the other hand, the spokesman of the Ministry of Labour, Charles Akbar has mired that the issue no longer lies in their hands but rather the Ministries of Education, Finance and Budget saying they are in a better position to speak on why universities’ lecturers’ demands are being delayed.
He noted that the mandate of the Labour Ministry has been fulfilled by conciliating all parties involved.
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