ASUU insists FG failed agreement, but postpones strike decision
By Ibrahim Adeleke
The National Executive Council of the Academic Staff Union of Universities at the weekend said the Federal Government failed to address all the issues raised in the 2009 FGN-ASUU Agreement and subsequent MoUs and MoAs.
ASUU, however, put on hold its decision on strike as it continues consultations.
This was revealed in a statement the union issued after its NEC meeting held at its Festus Iyayi National Secretariat, University of Abuja, on Saturday, December 18, 2021.
The NEC convened to review the level of government’s implementation of the FGN-ASUU Memorandum of Action of December 23, 2020 and other related matters.
In the statement entitled, ‘Enough of blackmail’ and signed by ASUU President, Prof Emmanuel Osodeke, the union decried the Federal Government’s alleged refusal to implement the agreement to set up an inter-ministerial committee to review the draft Renegotiated 2009 FGN-ASUU Agreement.
The academic union had earlier threatened to embark on a strike over the government’s failure to meet its demands.
ASUU said that aside from the Earned Academic Allowances, that its demands included the review of the NUC Act to curb the proliferation of universities by state governments who are not funding the existing ones; adoption of the University Transparency Accountability Solutions (UTAS) with concurrent discontinuance of the Integrated Payroll and Personnel Information System (IPPIS) and distortion in salary payment.
The union is also demanding the release of accumulated promotion arrears; and the review and signing of the draft document on the Renegotiation of 2009 ASUU-FGN Agreement.
Its statement partly read: “NEC was worried by the spirited efforts of government agents to reduce the demands of ASUU to a regime of intermittent payment of watered-down revitalisation fund and release of distorted and grossly devalued Earned Academic Allowances.
“ASUU shall not relent in demanding improvement in the welfare and conditions of service of our members. However, we shall resist any attempt to blackmail the union and derail our patriotic struggle for a productive university system by official propaganda founded on tokenism and crumb-sharing.
“NEC concluded that the government has failed to satisfactorily address all the issues raised in the 2009 FGN-ASUU Agreement and subsequent MoUs and MoAs.
“However, considering the ongoing intervention and consultation efforts, NEC resolved to review the situation at a later date with a view to deciding on the next line of action.”
