The Federal Government has insisted that it has met all of the demands of the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) as the union has extended its warning strike by another 2 months.
This was made known by the Minister of State for Education, Mr Chukwuemeka Nwajiuba, while reacting to the declaration of the rollover of the strike by the lecturers’ union during an interview with journalists at the end of the commemoration of the 2022 Commonwealth Celebration in Abuja on Monday.
What the Minister of State for Education is saying
According to NAN, Nwajiuba, who insisted that the federal government had met all of the demands of the union, added that all earned allowances, as well as revitalisation funds, had been released.
He said, “ASUU announced and we met and everything that they have demanded, we have done all of them including the earned allowances and the revitalisation fund; they choose to extend it for two months may be.’’
ASUU refuses to back down
- Meanwhile, ASUU had refused to back down as it said that it will continue to roll over the strike for another 8 weeks to enable the Federal Government to address issues in concrete terms.
- This was disclosed by the ASUU President, Mr Emmanuel Osodeke, while reading a communique issued at the end of its National Executive Council emergency meeting held on Monday at the University of Abuja secretariat of the union following the expiration of its one-month warning strike.
- Osodeke said the roll-over strike shall commence by 12-01am on Monday, March 14 and noted that the decision is hinged on the unseriousness of the Federal Government.
What the ASUU President is saying about the strike
Osodeke said that NEC noted that the union’s leadership had held some interactive meetings with agents of government in the last four weeks that the strike had lasted.
He said, “However, NEC was disappointed that government did not treat the matters involves with utmost urgency they deserved during the four-week period as expected of a reasonable, responsive, and well-meaning administration.
“NEC viewed government’s response, so far, as a continuation of the unconscionable, mindless, and nonchalant attitude of the Nigerian ruling elite towards the proven path of the national development which is education.
“NEC, having taken reports on the engagement of the trustees and principal officers with the government, concluded that government had failed to satisfactorily address all the issues raised in the 2020 FGN/ASUU Memorandum of Action within the four-weeks-roll over strike period.
“NEC resolved that the strike be rolled over for another eight weeks to give government more time to address all the issues in concrete terms so that government will resume as soon as possible.’’
What you should know
- Nairametrics had yesterday reported that the National Executive Council of the ASUU had announced that it will be meeting on Sunday evening, March 13, for a review of its ongoing one month total and comprehensive warning strike, for the declaration of a possible total, indefinite and suffocating strike.
- ASUU, had on February 14, embarked on a 4-week total and comprehensive strike to press home their unresolved demands on the federal government.
- Some of the lecturers’ demands include funding for the revitalisation of public universities, earned academic allowances, University Transparency Accountability Solution and promotion arrears.
- Others are the renegotiation of the 2009 ASUU-FGN Agreement, and the inconsistencies in the Integrated Personnel and Payroll Information System (IPPIS).
