ASUU threatens strike over unpaid allowances
(Nigeria) The Academic Staff Union of Universities, ASUU, has threatened to embark on a nationwide strike to press home its demands for the implementation of its 2009 agreement with the Federal Government.
The ASUU Lagos Zone Coordinator, Prof. Olusoji Sowande, stated
this when he addressed newsmen in Lagos on Tuesday.
Sowande said that the union was planning to toe this part
after several efforts to ensure that the government address the pending demands,
proved abortive.
He said that the 2009 FG/ASUU agreement, Memorandum of
Understanding, MOU, on funding of state universities, breaches of the
conditions of service and re -negotiation of the agreement, were still pending.
The coordinator also mentioned other demands like the
exclusion of Nigerian universities from Pension Management Company and
non-release of NEEDS Assessment Intervention Fund.
He said that funding of state universities, earned academic
allowance and renegotiation of the agreement were parts of the outstanding
issues.
Sowande recalled that the union had embarked on strike in
2012 and 2013 as part of the efforts to make the government implement the
agreement, adding that the issues remained unresolved.
He said that the 2009 agreement provided for a periodic
review after every three years which had not been done.
``The review of the agreement should have been undertaken in
2012 and 2015 but that did not happen. The implication is that our union has
shown enough patriotism and understanding on these matters in the last four
years.
``We are perplexed and disappointed that both the Federal
and State Governments are not responding to our consistent appeals to bring
about genuine transformation in the education sector,” he said.
According to him, embarking on strike has never been a
favourable choice as the Students and ASUU members have always suffered the
pains more.
``It is unfortunate that the only language government
appears to respect and listens to is that of industrial action like strike,’’
he said.
The don said that the National officers of the union had met
with the Minister of Education, Malam Adamu Adamu on May 10 and tabled 10-point
demand.
He said that the minister had promised that the issues would
be resolved within two weeks but nothing had been done till now.
Sowande said that based on MOU signed in November 2013, “Nigerian
universities requires N1.3 trillion to revitalise the system,” adding that the
government was already in arrears of N605 billion as at the third quarter of
2016.
He said that the government had refused to release N128
billion and N250 billion respectively for the earned academic allowance of
three years after the MoU was signed.
``In order to forestall this avoidable crisis, we appeal to
all genuinely progressive individuals and groups to prevail on both the Federal
and State Governments to commence release of funds for the listed purposes.
``This is to arrest the brewing and potentially
combustible situation in the Nigerian university system before it degenerated
into a serious conflagration,’’ he said.
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