The Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) has given the Federal Government a fresh three-week notice of indefinite strike action, saying the strike is a resumption of the strike it suspended last year.
The Union alleged that some government officials including the Minister of Labour and Employment, Chris Ngige, and the Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Education, Sonny Echono are attempting to discredit the draft agreement reached by the federal government and the union in 2020.
The Coordinator of the Bauchi Zonal Branch, ASUU, Prof. Lawal Abubakar during a press conference on Tuesday in Jos, said “ASUU members Nationwide are ready to do everything legitimately and lawfully possible including losing the last drop of their blood to safeguard it, get it signed and totally implemented.
“ASUU will not allow anyone including Mr Echono to scuttle this draft agreement while at the same time eating fat on the product of the Union’s struggle. Being a Board member of TetFund, a product of ASUU struggle, he has cornered a Federal University that is solely funded by TetFund and NEEDS Assessment to his community.
The Union described the statement made by Ngige that the government had made a lot of progress in the implementation of the MoA with the payment of N30 billion Revitalisation Fund and N12.127 billion Earned Allowance as false.
“Which promise have they kept? Is the MoA just about Earned Academic Allowance or do you think by throwing money that is rightly ours, we would forget the other aspect of the MoA?” he said.
The Coordinator who was represented by Professor Nanmwa Voncir, the former Coordinator of the Bauchi Zonal Branch accused the government of attempting to kill university education in the country through the proliferation of higher institutions without adequate funding.
“The only reason why the Federal Government has failed to stop the state governments from establishing new universities when the existing ones are grossly underfunded is that it is guilty of the same offence in addition to the pecuniary gains which those responsible are making.”
He noted that the Union has already activated the process in view of resuming the suspended strike.
He further said “If the problem escalates, Nigerians should hold the Federal Government responsible. That is why we are begging well-meaning Nigerians to prevail on the Federal Government to avert another round of strike by meeting our demands in the interest of University education in the country.”
