The Academic Staff Union of Universities has given the Federal Government 21 days’ notice that it intends to go on strike nationwide.
Sources from ASUU’s National Executive Council verified the development with
https://bizwatchnigeria.ng/dangote-cement-drops-10-or-n1trn-as-investors-sells-shares/ our correspondent in Abuja on Monday. The notification was given following the NEC meeting, which was held at the University of Ibadan, and a copy is anticipated to be sent to the Federal Ministries of Labor and Education.
“It is not an ultimatum but a strike notice. We are giving them 21 days’ notice, after which we shall embark on strike.
“Our aim for putting out the notice is that it is a requirement under labour laws, so we are trying to ensure that all our actions are done according to the law,” the source said.
It would be recalled that ASUU had threatened to embark on a strike over the non-implementation of agreements reached with the federal government.
On June 26, Minister of Education Prof. Tahir Mamman invited the union to a conference to discuss outstanding concerns impacting universities and avoid the planned walkout.
Prof. Emmanuel Osodeke, the national president of ASUU, stated after the meeting that the agreements struck with the Federal Government had not been implemented. “At the meeting organized by the Minister of Education, we agreed to meet again in two weeks to assess the government’s progress.
“We will also see what we will do next if the government fails to implement the agreements reached.”
The ASUU president said some of the demands included the non-implementation of the 2009 re-negotiated agreements. He said the agreements had lingered for over six years, and the government had yet to implement them.
Osodeke said the academic allowances due to their members had also accumulated for over six years, and nothing had been done about it.
On the issue of the revitalisation fund, he said they agreed on the Needs Assessment Report to raise N200 billion annually for five years.
“Since 2013, only one has been paid. We need revitalisation funds to upgrade our universities to standard so that we can have students and lecturers from outside the country,” he said.
Oshodeke added that the government had yet to stop the proliferation of universities, adding that many new universities were being approved without funds to run them.
