ASUU Gives FG 21-day Strike Notice

The Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) has issued a 21-day strike notice to the Federal Government if its demands are not addressed.

The notice was issued at the end of the NEC meeting, which was held at the University of Ibadan, and a copy is expected to be transmitted to the Federal Ministries of Labour and Education.

The deadline intensifies the pressure on the government to resolve the disputes and avoid further disruption to academic institutions nationwide.

Sources within the National Executive Council of ASUU confirmed the development to journalists yesterday.

“It is not a request but a strike notice. We give them 21 days’ notice, after which we shall embark on strike.

“Our aim for putting out the notice is that it is a requirement under labour laws, so we are trying to ensure that all our actions are done according to the law,” the source said.

It should be remembered that ASUU had threatened to strike over the non-implementation of agreements reached with the federal government.

On June 26, the Minister of Education, Prof. Tahir Mamman, invited the union to a meeting to deliberate on the lingering issues affecting universities and to avert the planned strike.

The national president of ASUU, Prof. Emmanuel Osodeke, who spoke about the meeting’s outcome, said the agreements reached with the federal government had yet to be implemented.

“At the meeting called by the Minister of Education, we agreed that after two weeks, we will meet to see the government’s progress.

“We will also see what we will do next if the government fails to implement the agreements reached.”

The ASUU president said some demands included the non-implementation of the 2009 re-negotiated agreements.

He said the agreements had lingered for over six years, and the government had yet to implement them.

Osodeke said the academic allowances due to their members had also accumulated for over six years, and something still needs to be done about it.

On the revitalisation fund issue, he said they agreed on the Needs Assessment Report to raise N200 billion yearly for five years.

“Since 2013, only one has been paid. We need revitalisation funds to upgrade our universities to standard so that we can have students and lecturers from outside the country,” he said.