The Academic Staff Union of Universities, or ASUU, has given a three-week ultimatum to the Federal Government to react to its demands in order to avoid industrial action.
Comrade Salim Ahmed, Chairperson of ASUU Federal University Dutse, FUD, Branch in Jigawa State, issued the warning during an emergency news conference at the FUD, ASUU Secretariat in Dutse.
He stated that “the Members of the Expanded Executive Officers of the ASUU Federal University Dutse met today, Wednesday, 19th June 2024, to consider and take a look at the patriotic engagements of the Union with the Federal and State governments o how best to address all the lingering problems bedevilling Nigerian Public Universities” .
He said ASUU noted that the current administration purposely ignored the leadership of the Union since its inception on May 29th.
“All efforts were put in place by the leadership of the Union to get the government to convene a meeting and listen to ASUU in order to iron out the contending issues, as contained in the International Labour Organization, ILO’s principle of collective bargaining, have failed,” he said.
Ahmed stated that the renegotiation of the FGN/ASUU 2009 agreement addresses all of the main problems of ASUU member welfare, university autonomy, funding for the revitalization of Nigerian universities, and the proliferation of public universities.
He went on to say that the core issues pertaining to the condition of service include all of the contending issues as contained in the FGN/ASUU MoU 2012/2013 and the MoA of 2017, illegal dissolution of Governing Councils in Federal and State Universities, and the release of three and a half (7) months of the outstanding three and a half (7) months withheld salaries for work that has already been completed.
“Others are release of the unpaid salaries of our members on sabbatical, adjunct, etc due to IPPIS inadequacy and inefficiency, release of third party deductions by IPPIS, payment of Earned Academic Allowance (EAA), implementation of the report of the visitation Panels and adoption of UTAS in place of IPPIS.
“Based on all these, the members of our great union in this branch, like those of the other branches, are believing that the Federal Government is unwilling to decisively address the outstanding issues with the union, therefore, in line with the directives from the National secretariat, we resolved to hold a press conference and let the parents, the stakeholders in university education know of the situation and to be sensitized and well informed of the failure of the government to address these lingering issues.
“The general public should be aware of the true state of affairs.”
Ahmed disclosed that the union would, within the next three weeks, set machinery in motion to further mobilize its members and sensitize them for further action.
“The union calls on all well-meaning discerning minds to prevail on Nigerian Government to attend to these outstanding issues and meet with our union leadership so as to avert an unnecessary and avoidable industrial crisis in our already frail and weak university system,” Ahmed added.