The Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) poses one month strike.
This was announced on Monday, February 14, 2022 after a long meeting that started on Sunday, February 13, 2022 evening at the University of Lagos (UNILAG), Nigeria.
The ASUU President Emmanuel Victor Osodeke said the industrial action is “comprehensive and total”.
Emmanuel has earlier lamented that the union’s demands on the revitalization of public universities, earned academic allowances, University Transparency Accountability Solution (UTAS) promotion arrears, renegotiation of 2009 ASUU-FGN agreement, and inconsistencies in Integrated Payroll and Personnel information system (IPPIS) payments have been neglected after meetings with Minister of Labour and Employment, Dr. Chris Ngige.
The union had also issued a 3-week ultimatum to the Nigerian government, nudging it to address all pending issues to avert another round of strike.
Checks have shown that a number of universities already preparing for semester examinations are apprehensive. Students are particularly jittery, expressing fears that they may be forced to go home if ASUU makes good its threat to down tools.
For instance, Federal University of Technology, Akure (FUTA) is billed to commence first semester examinations by the end of this month.
Also, UNILAG students were preparing to start their examinations after hosting the National University Games Association (NUGA) in March, 2022.
This strike action is a continuation of the 9-month strike that grounded academic activities 2020 for the same reasons.
Lecturers threatened to embark on another round of industrial action following the alleged “government’s unfaithfulness” in the implementation of the Memorandum of Action it signed.
President Muhammadu Buhari assured Nigerians that his administration would honour the agreements with ASUU to prevent lecturers downing tools in universities.
“The government is committed to this engagement and dialogue, and I urge them to stay the course towards a joint resolution in the best interest of our children and nation,” he said.
