The Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) has announced on Monday in Abuja that the union is bracing up for another round of industrial action following 'government’s failure on implementing the Memorandum of Action (MoU) agreed to earlier in the year. According to the ASUU PresidentProfessor Emmanuel Osodeke, all the issues, including those of unpaid academic earned allowances and the universities revitalisation fund have not been addressed almost one year after an agreement was reached.
After the ASUU National Executive Council (NEC) meeting at the University of Abuja on the 13th and 14th November 2021, Osodeke said governments should be held responsible if they fail to address the issues within three weeks.
According to Osodeke, “ASUU is fully committed to upholding academic integrity in our universities and working to make them more globally competitive. We are equally committed to promoting industrial harmony in the Nigerian University System for as long as all stakeholders are willing and committed to play their parts.
“We call on all Vice-Chancellors, as the main drivers of the system, to join us in this mission to safeguard the waning image of our universities. They have no business trading honorary degrees and academic positions for personal and immediate gains; thereby smearing the collective integrity of committed scholars and other patriots who are working day and night to uplift the system that produced them.
“Our union shall not shy away from taking the fight to administrators of Nigerian universities as well as internal and external agents who are and external agents who are bent on compromising the standard ASUU has consistently laboured to protect and improve.
“Finally, we call on all patriotic Nigerians and lovers of Nigeria to prevail on the federal and state governments to act fast to prevent another round of industrial crisis in Nigeria’s public universities.
“It is painful that our Union may soon have no other way of securing the implementation of FGN-ASUU collectively bargained agreements and redressing the criminal neglect of welfare issues of our members by State Governors. Governments of
Nigerian should be held responsible should ASUU be forced to activate the strike it patriotically suspended.”