The Federal Government has been forewarned by the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) to uphold the 2009 FG/ASUU agreement or risk widespread industrial action.
Chris Piwuna, the president of ASUU, gave the warning during a press conference in Abuja on Friday.
Nine important concerns, including the renegotiation process that has been frozen since 2017, are still unresolved, according to Piwuna.
He emphasized unpaid entitlements pertaining to the Integrated Payroll and Personnel Information System (IPPIS) and delayed salaries from the 2022 strike period.
Additionally, he criticized the unpaid earned academic allowances and the delayed disbursement of revitalisation funding. He revealed that although N150 billion was promised to institutions and irregular allowances were to be adjusted by 2026, these promises have not yet been met.
State universities’ marginalization
Piwuna claims that ASUU members experience employment insecurity, wage refusal, and victimization at public universities such as Lagos State University and Kogi State University. He claimed that these difficulties still lower employee morale.
Citing Nnamdi Azikiwe and Abuja universities as examples, the ASUU president voiced worry about political meddling in the selection of university administrators.
He cautioned that it is intolerable that universities are turning into arenas for the pursuit of political and commercial objectives.
Piwuna demanded a national summit on education to discuss academic welfare, autonomy, and financing.
“Education instills values, fosters innovation, and empowers citizens.” Development is impossible without it,” he stated.
He called on Nigerians and their international allies to stand by them in their fight, saying that although they are amenable to discussion, they would not tolerate any further abuses of their rights.
“Our colleges ought to serve as hubs for finding answers to the problems facing the country. Although we welcome discussion, we will not put up with any more violations of our rights,” he declared.
Things you should be aware of
In order to solve important concerns in Nigeria’s public universities, such as better finance, better working conditions for professors, and the creation of a more favorable academic environment, ASUU and the Nigerian government came to an agreement in 2009.
Strikes have frequently interrupted public universities since the accord. These labor strikes, which frequently last for several months, are becoming a common occurrence in the execution of policies, welfare, and funding.
In 2010, ASUU went on an indefinite strike that lasted more than five months in protest at the government’s noncompliance with the 2009 accord. A 59-day strike ensued in 2011 as a result of the agreement’s non-implementation.
The longest strike, which lasted roughly five and a half months in 2013, was brought on by problems like unpaid earned allowances and insufficient financing for university revitalization.
In order to highlight the government’s disregard for the 2009 agreement and a 2013 Memorandum of Understanding, ASUU organized a one-week warning strike in 2014.
The following strikes, which lasted a few weeks to months and were centered on problems ranging from inadequate funding and the implementation of the Integrated Payroll and Personnel Information System (IPPIS) to the founding of new universities without sufficient backing, took place in 2017, 2018, and 2020.
The last significant strike started in February 2022 and lasted for more than five months.
