Stop Time-buying Gimmicks, ASUU Tells FG, Warns Of Likely Strike

The federal government has been told to stop playing time-buying gimmicks with the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) and implement past agreements.

The Yola Zone of ASUU which comprises six branches: Modibbo Adama University Yola, University of Maiduguri, Federal University Gashua, Taraba State University Jalingo, Adamawa State University Mubi, and Yobe State University Damaturu, said insensitivity manifested in refusal to implement agreements dating back several years is the problem with the federal government.

According to a statement from the Zonal ASUU office in Yola, “It does not make sense for the federal government to be consistently reneging on agreements.”

In the statement signed by the Yola Zonal ASUU chairman, Dani Mamman, the union asked the federal government to stop toying with the future of Nigerian students by implementing in particular the agreement reached in 2022 with ASUU that prompted the suspension of the strike that year.

“The failure of the government to implement contents of several memoranda of understanding and action between 2013 and 2022 have particularly hampered access to wholesome industrial harmony in public universities,” the union said.

It added that although the union had on August 21 2024 issued a 21-day ultimatum for the resolution of all the issues in contention since 2009, nothing tangible has changed.

“Let us make it crystal clear that at the end of two additional weeks that our union (National leadership) gave the federal government, if nothing concrete comes out, our members will not hesitate to withdraw our services,” the Yola Zone ASUU stated.

It told the federal government to act now but that if the government fails to respond appropriately, it should blame itself should ASUU resume strike soon.