The Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU), Nsukka zone, has issued a stern warning to the Federal Government, accusing it of deliberately ignoring a decade-old agreement with the union.
The lecturers cautioned that the government’s failure to honour its commitments could push them into declaring an indefinite strike to press home their demands.
Daily Trust reported that ASUU has vowed to return to the trenches by declaring an indefinite strike until their struggles for better Nigerian universities and improved welfare for lecturers are met.
Meanwhile, Zonal Coordinator of ASUU, Christian Chukwuma Opata, while briefing journalists in Makurdi, Benue State capital, noted the renegotiation of 2009 Agreement between ASUU and federal government, the gradual and purposeful erosion of university autonomy, and the tactical withdrawal from the principles of collective bargaining were among many unresolved issues.
The union added that “the refusal to revitalise public universities, non-payment of withheld and outstanding salaries of our members for a work they have done, the withholding of third party deduction, the non-payment of the 25-35% wage increase, the starving of universities of funds and the attempt to railroad members into slavery in the name of loan; the controversial Tertiary Institution Staff Support Fund (TISSF) are good reasons for them to embark on strike.”
“The latter is a testament that the excuse given by the government to the effect that there is no money to fund education appropriately is a ruse.
“If the government is deliberately testing our will, it is time for us to respond. We therefore call on all Nigerians and the global community to impress on our government to attend to these issues before it is too late,” the zonal chairman said.
Opata further said that the antics of summoning the union to meetings that the resolutions reached at such meetings would not be honoured are not only nauseating but unacceptable.
“We are aware that the government is deliberate in its actions, and we may be forced not to honour any meeting they summon until they show commitment.”
The union affirmed that its struggle will persist until the government shows real commitment to improving the welfare of academics and upgrading university working conditions to align with global standards, just as they once were in Nigeria’s early post-independence years.
