By Abiola Olawale
Another nationwide strike seems imminent as the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) and the Nigerian government have not yet reached an agreement on the union’s demands.
This is as the Federal Government has reportedly failed to contact ASUU with only 48 hours remaining before the expiration of the ultimatum issued by the union.
An ASUU executive who spoke with the press made this known on Wednesday.
The ASUU executive said: “The federal government has not reached out, there is nothing yet.”
It would recalled that the ASUU President, Emmanuel Osodeke, in a statement released in September declared that the union had issued a 14-day warning strike to the Federal Government to attend to their demands.
Osodeke, in the statement, explained that the union is seeking the conclusion of the renegotiation of the 2009 FGN/ASUU Agreement based on the Nimi Briggs Committee’s Draft Agreement of 2021.
He also demanded the release of withheld salaries due to the 2022 strike action.
The statement reads in part: “Given the foregoing, ASUU resolves to give the Nigerian Government another 14 days, in addition to the earlier 21 days, beginning from Monday, September 23, 2024, during which all the lingering issues must have been concretely addressed to the satisfaction of the membership of the union.
“The union should not be held responsible for any industrial disharmony that arises from the government’s failure to seize the new opportunity offered by ASUU to nip the looming crisis in the bud.”
The New Diplomat reports that ASUU had been demanding the release of unpaid salaries for staff on sabbatical, part-time, and adjunct appointments affected by the Integrated Payroll and Personnel Information System, and the payment of outstanding third-party deductions such as check-off dues and cooperative contributions.
The union had also said it wants funding for the revitalisation of public universities, partly captured in the 2023 Federal Government Budget, and the payment of Earned Academic Allowances partly captured in the 2023 Federal Government Budget.
Other issues include the proliferation of universities by Federal and State Governments, the implementation of the reports of visitation panels to universities, the reversal of the illegal dissolution of Governing Councils, and the adoption of the University Transparency and Accountability Solution as a replacement for IPPIS.
