Just in: ASUU gives FG more time, extends strike by four weeks

The Academic Staff Union of Universities has extended its ongoing strike by four weeks.

The association, in a statement on Monday signed by its President, Prof. Emmanuel Osodeke, said the decision was made after a meeting of ASUU executives on Sunday.

It said the rollover was to give the Federal Government time to resolve the outstanding issues.

On February 14, ASUU declared a one-month warning strike to protest the non-implementation of its demands by the federal government.

The union extended the strike by eight weeks on March 14, citing the government’s failure to fully address its demands.

It thereafter extended the strike by another 12 weeks on May 9.

ASUU, in its statement, said it viewed the recent directive given by the President Muhammadu Buhari that the minister of education should resolve the lingering crisis, with seriousness.

“The union wonders why it had taken five full months and needless muscle-flexing for government to come to the realisation of the need for honest engagement,” the statement said.

“NEC acknowledged the growing understanding of the issues and the groundswell of support for the union’s principled demand for a globally competitive university education in Nigeria. Nigerian universities must not be reduced to constituency projects that merely exist on paper and our scholars must be incentivised to stay back and do what they know best, here in Nigeria.

“NEC observed that non-signing of the draft renegotiated 2009 FGN-ASUU Agreement more than one month after it was concluded by Professor Nimi Briggs-led Committee is further tasking the patience of ASUU members nationwide.

“NEC further observed that the ongoing trial of the suspended Accountant-General of the Federation (AGF), Mr Ahmed ldris, on allegation of monumental fraud has vindicated ASUU’s rejection of the Integrated Payroll and Personnel Information (IPPIS). The National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA) is enjoined to release reports of the latest tests on the University Transparency and Accountability Solution (UTAS) vis-à-vis IPPIS without further delay. ASUU shall resist any attempt to truncate the deployment of UTAS with all legitimate means available to the union.

“NEC noted that cumulative indifference by the political class gave vent to pervasive atmosphere of insecurity which now threatens seamless provision of educational services in the country. The unceremonious closure of educational institutions in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), following the recent attack on Presidential Guards, betrays a panicky measure to addressing a malignant ailment. Nothing short of a comprehensive overhaul of the security architecture of the country will sustainably address the problem.

“Following extensive deliberations and taking cognisance of government’s past failures to abide by its own timelines in addressing issues raised in the 2020 FGN/ASUU Memorandum of Action (MoA), NEC resolved that the strike be rolled over for four weeks to give government more time to satisfactorily resolve all the outstanding issues. The role-over strike action is with effect from 12.01a.m. on Monday, 1st August, 2022.”