Another Strike Looms As ASUU Gives FG 21-Day Notice

BY EDMOND ODOK – Another round of industrial action may be loading in the nation’s education sector with the Academic Staff Union of Universities puting the Federal Government on notice about its plans to embark on a nationwide strike.

Insiders in the ASUU’s National Executive Council (NEC) confirmed the development in Abuja on Monday, indicating that the government has already been given a 21-day notice in line with existing labour laws.

It was gathered that the strike notice was contained in the communique issued by the NEC meeting held at the University of Ibadan (UI) with a copy formally transmitted to the Federal Ministries of Labour and Education.

One of the NEC members, who preferred anonymity, said; “It is not an ultimatum but a strike notice. We are giving them 21 days’ notice, after which we shall embark on strike.

“Our aim for putting out the notice is that it is a requirement under labour laws so we are trying to ensure that all our actions are done according to the law”.

Forefront News reliably gathered that the ASUU’s threat to embark on this fresh strike is not unconnected with the non-implementation of agreements reached between the University teachers and the Federal government.

The Minister of Education, Professor Tahir Mamman, had on June 26, 2024, arranged a meeting with the Union to address the lingering issues affecting universities and possibly avert the planned strike but nothing concrete came out of the engagement.

But speaking on the meeting’s outcome, National President of ASUU, Professor Emmanuel Osodeke said the agreements reached with the Federal Government were yet to be implemented.

He told journalists that; “At the meeting called by the Minister of Education, we agreed that after two weeks, we will meet to see the progress the government has made.

“We will also see what we will do next if the government fail to implement the agreements reached.”

Explaining that some of the demands include the non-implementation of the 2009 re-negotiated agreements, Prof Osodeke said these had lingered for over six years, and the government seems unwilling to implement them.

Furthermore, he said the academic allowances due to ASUU members have accumulated for more than six years, with nothing done about it so far.

On the Revitalisation Fund, the University don stated that they agreed on the Needs Assessment Report to raise N200 billion yearly for five years, noting that; “Since 2013, only one has been paid. We need revitalisation funds to upgrade our universities to standard so that we can have students and lecturers from outside the country”.

Additionally, he accused the government of reneging on its promise to stop the proliferation of universities, even as it continues to approve many new universities without the necessary funds for their administration.