ASUU insists on strike despite recent meeting

Less than 24 hours after the federal government opened fresh discussions with the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) to prevent a potential strike in the university sector, lecturers have revived their threat to embark on a nationwide strike.

Yesterday, many union chapters at federal and state colleges held campus protests and news conferences to announce their intention to go on strike again.

Members of ASUU at the University of Ibadan (UI) in Oyo State protested the precarious working conditions, claiming they are committed to prevent the nation’s university from being destroyed.

Professor Ayo Akinwole, chairman of the ASUU branch at the University of Ibadan, stated that the union will not let the federal and state governments to destroy the university system in Nigeria.

The federal government met with ASUU behind closed doors on Wednesday in an attempt to avoid the impending strike.

The government delegation was led by the Minister of Education, Prof. Tahir Mamman.

ASUU president Emmanuel Osodeke, who headed the union’s delegation, told reporters that the meeting was held to discuss outstanding concerns affecting colleges in order to avoid the planned strike.

In Ibadan yesterday, Akinwole, who spoke during the protest, underlined that the union had a responsibility to defend university education in Nigeria and preserve knowledge production for future generations.

He said, “Members of the union subscribe to unions, cooperatives, and other societies within their respective universities, where they pay monthly check-off dues, deductions, contributions, etc. In accordance with labour laws and industrial best practices, these third-party deductions are deducted directly from their salaries and should be remitted to the beneficiary unions and societies.

“Due to the challenges with IPPIS, these dues have been deducted by IPPIS operators since February 2020, yet many of these deductions have not been remitted. This is not only sabotage but also fraudulent.

“We cannot allow the university system in Nigeria to be destroyed by successive transient governments. It is our historic duty as intellectuals to defend university education in Nigeria and protect knowledge production for future generations.”

ASUU chairman, Ladoke Akintola University of Technology (LAUTECH), Ogbomoso, Babatunde Lawal, urged both federal and state governments to prioritise funding for tertiary education, adding that the union’s demands were legitimate, especially its rejection of IPPIS.

“IPPIS violates university autonomy and the Acts establishing universities. In addition to this illegality, IPPIS is notorious for its fraudulent practices that impose undue hardship on Nigerian academics and disrupt university operations in payroll management.

“ASUU continues to reject IPPIS. We are concerned that more than four months after the government directed federal universities and other tertiary institutions to exit the discredited payment platform, our members’ salaries are still arbitrarily withheld.

“Moreover, third-party deductions (cooperative contributions, pension deductions, and union check-off dues) remain unreleased. The platform, under the guise of ‘New IPPIS,’ continues to be used contrary to the Federal Executive Council’s directive,” he said.

The ASUU chapter of the University of Nigeria Nsukka (UNN) has declared a nationwide indefinite strike if the federal government fails to accept the union’s demands after the 21-day deadline.

The union made the unanimous decision on Thursday during its congress, which lasted roughly an hour at UNN.

Comrade Oyibo Eze, the chairman of UNN-ASUU, told members during the congress that the congress’ goal was to gather members’ comments on the ASUU national leadership’s 21-day ultimatum to the federal government to fulfil the union’s demands since 2009 or face a nationwide indefinite strike.

“I thank you all for speaking in one voice to support a nationwide strike at the expiration of the 21-day ultimatum. It’s unfortunate that all the agreements federal government signed with ASUU since 2009 have not been implemented.

“This congress resolution is that if after 21 days the government fails to do the needful by implementing all agreements entered with ASUU since 2009, the national leadership should proceed on an indefinite nationwide strike.

“Members in this congress say enough is enough of government insincerity in redeeming the agreements it signed since 2009,” he said

The congress members had carried out a peaceful protest march from the Faculty of Social Science to UNN Main Gate, and ended up at the Administrative Building, where the union handed over a protest letter to the UNN acting vice-chancellor.

Some of the placards carried by ASUU protesters had these inscriptions: “Kill Education, kill the Nation,” “Nigeria lecturers are the least paid globally,” and “The government should honour the agreement with ASUU since 2009. It is a moral question,” “Government stop forcing ASUU to embark on strike,” “Government, don’t kill university education in Nigeria,” and “No pay, no work,” among others.

Oyibo handed over the protest letter to Prof Romanus Ezeokonkwo, the acting VC, who was represented by Prof Johnson Urama, Academic’s deputy vice-chancellor.

The ASUU chapter at Plateau State University, Bokkos, also held a protest march over the federal government’s refusal to implement the 2009 deal agreed with the union, as stated in the Nimi Briggs Committee report, and other concerns impacting public universities.

At a news conference on Thursday at the University campus, the union’s chairman, Dr Monday Hassan Zitta, and secretary, Dr Lomka Iliya Kopdiya, declared that their protest was in accordance with the ASUU National Executive Council’s (NEC) directives.

They complained that successive governments had deliberately neglected to honour its agreement with the ASUU in 2009 on critical issues regarding conditions of service, funding, and university autonomy agreement, which would be in the best interest of the masses.

They recalled that in their campaign promises, politicians, particularly President Bola Ahmed Tinubu and his chief of staff, Femi Gbajabiamila, promised that these issues would be resolved and that there would be no more strikes.

“However, it has been over a year now, and they have demonstrated a clear unwillingness to take any action to solve these problems”.

According to the duo, the country’s escalating economic crisis has made it so difficult that many highly regarded academics, who should be present to mentor the next generation, are fleeing the country in pursuit of better opportunities.

The protest aimed to address issues such as non-implementation of the 20-25-35% wage award for Plateau University staff, exclusion of university workers from palliative care payments, and lack of a governing council at the state university.

They underlined that Plateau State University is a public university that has greatly benefited from the union’s past fights, and they called on the federal and state governments to take seriously the responsibilities of insuring quality university education.

The ASUU chapter at Akwa Ibom State University (AKSU) also threatened to resume the suspended strike, claiming that the state administration had failed to implement the set of demands agreed upon during negotiations that led to the strike’s suspension.

The union identified staff welfare, non-constitution of the governing council, finance, academic infrastructure restoration, and electricity, particularly at the Obio Akpa, Oruk Anam LGA site, as its members’ main problems.

Speaking in Uyo, the state capital, yesterday, Dr. Inyang Udosen, chairman of the ASUU branch, urged the governor and visitor to the university, Pastor Umo Eno, to form the governing board immediately.

Udosen noted that the request for additional funds from the current N325 million to N500 million subvention became necessary to address the intermittent power supply and recruit more academic staff to reduce the workload of lecturers.

He said: “Since the tenure of the last Governing Council in June 2023, the ASUU branch notes with deep regret that there is no Council to run and regulate the affairs of the University, which is exactly one year after the expiration of the last Council.

“The state governor, who is the Visitor, during his meeting and interaction with all the Staff Unions of the University on 7th February 2024, promised to set up the Council.

“ASUU-AKSU branch frowns at the non-constitution of the governing council and hereby uses this medium to remind the governor of his promise to do so, and appeals to him to constitute it without any further delay.”

The lectures’ union expressed grave concern about the state of affairs in AKSU, especially the insufficient power supply on the Obio Akpa campus, where power is supplied only between 9am and 2pm daily.

“This rationed power supply cannot support academic learning, teaching and research. It is in view of the above that ASUU-AKSU branch calls for increment in subvention to the University to the tune of not less than N500 million in line with economic realities of the day.” It said.

The union also pointed out that the university has not had a hostel facility since its establishment 13 years ago, exposing students to risk and exploitation by the neighbouring people.