(ASUU )STRIKE for 2022 Academic Season

 The Federal Government through the Federal Ministry of Education has begun efforts towards meeting the demands of the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU). This was disclosed by the ministry in a press statement by its Director of Press and Media Relations, Ben Goong, on Thursday.

The press statement from the education ministry titled, ‘Federal Government constitutes white paper drafting panels for tertiary institutions, explained that ten white paper drafting panels have been constituted.

The statement read in part, “Following the receipt of reports of Visitation Panels to Tertiary Institutions last year, Education Minister, Adamu Adamu has constituted White Paper Drafting Panels for Tertiary Institutions across the country.

 

“Ten White Paper Drafting Panels have been constituted for 36 Universities, while six Panels have been constituted for 25 Polytechnics with 21 Colleges of Education having 5 Panels.

“One Panel is to draft a White Paper for four Inter-university centres. the Panels will be inaugurated in the coming days.

“All the Panels have two weeks from the date of inauguration to submit their reports.”

 

The ASUU President, Prof Emmanuel Osodeke, could not be reached for his comments as of the time of filing this report.

Earlier: ASUU Embarks on One-Month Strike Action

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The Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) has declared a “comprehensive and total” strike.

The strike was declared at a press conference addressed by the President of ASUU, Prof. Emmanuel Osodeke, on Monday.

He said the strike, which takes effect from Monday, February 14, 2022, would last for an initial period of four weeks.

 

According to him, the union tried to avoid the strike but the Federal Government is unresponsive to the union’s demands.

The ASUU chairman also said ASUU NEC faulted the creation of new universities.

He said, “NEC resolved to embark on the four-week roll-over total and comprehensive strike as the government has failed to implement the Memorandum of Action it signed with the ASUU in December 2020.

“We invite all lovers of education to join our struggle for a greater Nigeria. Nigerian politicians keep proliferating educational institutions without prioritising education.

“ASUU will not relent in its historic responsibility of advocating for an improved university system.

 

“This is because it holds the key to our collective prosperity and better future for our children and our children’s children; so, let us work together to fix it.”

Osodeke asked the Federal Government to call the Vice-Chancellor of Obafemi Awolowo University, Ile-Ife, Prof. Eyitope Ogunbodede, to order over the unpaid Earned Academic Allowances of its members in the university.

“We have an agreed template with FG but the VC refused to pay. Failure to pay using that template is a misappropriation. He should be cautioned,” the ASUU president said.

Members of the union’s National Executive Council had held marathon meetings since Saturday at the University of Lagos titled, ‘NEC for NEC.’

ASUU had sensitised and mobilised lecturers and students across all universities on the reason the union might likely go on strike.

Earlier: ASUU Commences Two-Day Meeting, Takes Final Decision on Sunday

The National Executive Committee of the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) will on Saturday commence a two-day meeting at the University of Lagos, Akoka, to finalise the union’s decision on an impending strike.

Members of the ASUU NEC will make the final decision on the strike – to be reached by voting – known at the end of the meeting on Sunday, PUNCH reports.

 

This comes amid allegations that the Federal Government refused to implement some of the agreements it had with the union as far back as 2009.

ASUU had on November 15, 2021, given the Federal Government a three-week ultimatum over the failure to meet the demands.

The intensity of ASUU’s threat of embarking on another strike was heightened during the week following the union’s directive to its branches to observe lecture-free moments to sensitise the public on its demands and why it could commence another round of industrial action.

The union consequently declared Monday, February 9, 2022, as a lecture-free day to mobilise its members ahead of what it described as the longest strike in history.

Several chapters of the union embraced the directive and had held several congresses where they told the public to hold the government responsible if the union decides to embark on strike.

A final decision on the looming strike will be reached this weekend as ASUU NEC meets from February 12 (today) and February 13 at UNILAG.

Meanwhile, Minister of Labour and Employment, Chris Ngige, has promised to step into the dispute between the Federal Government and ASUU if the Ministry of Education and the National Universities Commission failed to resolve the issue.

He said, “The Ministry of Education is their employer and we have handed over the necessary tools to them. The major issue with ASUU now is the deployment of UTAS which is under the purview of NITDA which is under the Ministry of Communication and Digital Economy. The NUC also has its own role to play.

“My role is to play a reconciliatory officer. If their employers and the NUC fail to reconcile them, then I step in as the reconciliatory officer. It’s not more than that. But I know their employers are finding ways to resolve these issues.”

 

National President of Parent-Teacher Association of Nigeria, Danjuma Haruna, appealed to President Buhari to quickly intervene to dissuade ASUU from embarking on a fresh nationwide strike.

Haruna made this appeal in a statement on Friday, following recent threats of a fresh strike by many branches of ASUU.

The statement read in part, “Embarking on a new nationwide strike would definitely affect the educational system in the country. So many students would be forced to go home thereby increasing social vices in the country. Solving ASUU’s problems would help to improve the standard of education in all the universities across the 36 states of Nigeria.”

Earlier: ASUU Vows to Commence Industrial Action

The Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) on Friday expressed doubts over the ability of the Federal Government under the regime of the President, Major General Muhammadu Buhari (retd.), to resolve the lingering crisis in the education sector, particularly the universities.

The union said an indefinite strike will commence.

Punch reports that the union described as “shameful” the continued defence of IPPIS by the Federal Government despite reported fraud in it’s implementation as indicated in the 2021 report submitted to the National Assembly by the Auditor General of the Federation.

In a statement on Friday, ASUU lamented the numerous past negotiations and agreements with the Federal Government on how to revamp the education sector but which the government had shown no commitment to implement.

 

The statement signed by the Chairman of ASUU, University of Jos branch, Dr Lazarus Maigoro, read, “In the last one year, our Union has been engaged with the federal government and its officials over demands which, if met, would lift the standard of our battered tertiary institutions, especially the universities. The undisputed crisis in our educational sector has met, as with other consequences, nothing but the same response. Our union states very clearly that we appreciate the interest demonstrated by the Nigerian Inter-religion Council with a view to resolving the current impasse.

“However, it is not rational to continue to return to the same physician for the cure of an ailment iatrogenically introduced by him or one in which he has failed to cure or bring relief to his patient.

“From historical experience, we can conclude that NIRECs efforts with agents of government will be more prone to bringing further pain and anguish to the system. This will surely be the case if NIREC’s intervention ends with a palliative solution. This will lead to another phase of the same crisis. For the avoidance of doubt, our Union ASUU, has had several meetings with the Minister of Labour, Officials of the Federal Ministry of Education, the NUC, and NITDA and, very recently with the Chief of Staff to the President.

“All these meetings have not calmed our members as the following issues still remain unresolved.

The recent comments by the spokesman to the President, Mr. Femi Adesina that government will keep to the promises, rings very hollow to us. The government’s pattern of response to the issues is that of a serial promise-breaker. Like an unfaithful spouse, they are unable to match their words with action which is affecting the education sector negatively. We are tired of their deceit and IT IS TIME FOR US TO ACT. We want to inform Nigerians, that we are tired of fruitless meetings with the Minister of Labour, NUC Executive Secretary, Salaries, Incomes and Wages Commission, NITDA, and the Chief of Staff to the President. If they ever want us to listen to them, they should first of all act on the promises they have already made.

“In the meantime, we are resolved to proceed on an indefinite and comprehensive strike until fidelity returns to our relationship with the government and our demands are met. We are tired of the back and forth.”

Earlier: Lecturers Postpones Decision on Strike, Accuses FG of Blackmail

The Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) has postponed its decision on strike, saying that consultations are still ongoing.

This was contained in a press statement issued by the union after its National Executive Council meeting.

The meeting held at its Festus Iyayi National Secretariat, University of Abuja, on Saturday, December 18, 2021 to review the level of government’s implementation of the FGN-ASUU Memorandum of Action of December 23, 2020 and other related matters.

In the press statement titled, ‘Enough of blackmail’, signed by ASUU president, Prof Emmanuel Osodeke, the lecturers regretted that the Federal Government had turned its back on the plan to set up an inter-ministerial committee to review the draft Renegotiated 2009 FGN-ASUU Agreement.

Earlier, ASUU had announced plans to embark on a strike over the Federal Government’s failure to meet its demands.

Apart from the Earned Academic Allowances, ASUU said its demands included the review of the NUC Act to curb the proliferation of universities by state governments who are not funding the existing ones; adoption of the University Transparency Accountability Solutions (UTAS) with concurrent discontinuance of the Integrated Payroll and Personnel Information System (IPPIS) and distortion in salary payment.

Others are the release of accumulated promotion arrears; and the review and signing of the draft document on the Renegotiation of 2009 ASUU-FGN Agreement.

Part of the statement read, “NEC was worried by the spirited efforts of government agents to reduce the demands of ASUU to a regime of intermittent payment of watered-down revitalisation fund and release of distorted and grossly devalued Earned

“ASUU shall not relent in demanding improvement in the welfare and conditions of service of our members. However, we shall resist any attempt to blackmail the union and derail our patriotic struggle for a productive university system by official propaganda founded on tokenism and crumb-sharing.

“NEC concluded that government has failed to satisfactorily address all the issues raised in the 2009 FGN-ASUU Agreement and subsequent MoUs and MoAs.

“However, considering the ongoing intervention and consultation efforts, NEC resolved to review the situation at a later date with a view to deciding on the next line of action