ASUU Rejects Tinubu Government Offers, Mobilises Members For Strike
The Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) has called on its members nationwide to prepare for an “indefinite strike action” over the failure of the Nigerian government to honour the agreement it made with the union.
This was stated in a communiqué by the ASUU president, Emmanuel Osodeke, dated 13th November, 2023 and obtained by SaharaReporters on Tuesday.
According to the statement, the union also condemned the implementation of the government’s directive mandating public universities to remit forty per cent (40%) of their Internally Generated Funds (IGF) to the coffers of the government.
The statement reads: “1) The Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) held its National Executive Council (NEC) meeting at the Kaduna State University (KASU), Kaduna, Kaduna State, from Saturday 11th to Sunday 12th November, 2023 and deliberated on several issues affecting the Nigerian University System (NUS) and our dear country, Nigeria.
“2) The NEC meeting coincided with this year’s Heroes’ Day, which is a day set aside for honouring members of ASUU who have made tremendous contributions to the development of the union as well as those that paid the supreme price in the service of our union and for a better education system in the country. The Heroes’ Day was marked with a special lecture titled “Economic Crises, Government Responses and the Tertiary Education in Nigeria” delivered by Professor Sheriffdeen Tella and the award of scholarships to selected indigent but brilliant students in all public universities in Nigeria.
“3) NEC noted with serious concern the deepening socio-economic crises in our country occasioned by the ruthless implementation of neo-liberal economic policies by the current Administration. In particular, NEC noted the unbearable rising cost of living and increasing hardship foisted on the Nigerian masses since the unplanned deregulation of the prices of petroleum products and the unbridled devaluation of the Naira.
“4) NEC reviewed the state of the struggle for improved conditions of service, funding for revitalization, university autonomy and academic freedom, removal of federal universities from the illegally imposed Integrated Payroll and Personnel Information System (IPPIS), the amendment of the National Universities Commission (NUC) Act to curb the unbridled proliferation of state universities, and other related matters.
NEC observed that successive governments have failed to honour several Agreements reached with our union, especially the renegotiation of the 2009 FGN/ ASUU Agreement. NEC noted that even the little gains of the 2022 strike which led to budgetary provisions of funding for revitalization and the payment of Earned Academic Allowances (EAA) are yet to be activated due to the non-release of the allocated funds, NEC, once more, calls on the Federal Government to set in motion without further delay the process of concluding the renegotiation exercise in line with the fundamental principles of the Professor Nimi Briggs’ Committee and release the funds allocated for the payment of EAA. Towards this end, NEC directs all branches of ASUU to immediately commence the conscious mobilization of its members.
“5) NEC reiterated its earlier position on the wrongful dissolution of Governing Councils of universities without recourse to the laws establishing them. NEC reiterated that, apart from its erosion of the extant laws on university autonomy, the recent dissolution of the Governing Councils of Federal Universities has negatively impacted the governance of those institutions in terms of the career advancement of our members and such other matters which require the attention of the Councils. NEC therefore calls on the President Bola Tinubu-led Administration to reinstate the Governing Councils of Federal Universities without further delay.
“6) NEC reviewed the implications of the recent directive to Federal Universities to remit forty percent (40%) of their Internally Generated Funds (IGF) to the coffers of Government. NEC condemns the directive in its entirety because it would further impoverish and emasculate the Nigeria University System. For the avoidance of doubt, universities are not revenue generating agencies because the obligatory fees paid by students are to provide the necessary tools for them to be properly educated. NEC calls on the relevant institutions of state to remove universities from this category of government Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs) regarded as revenue generating centres because of its implications for affordability and accessibility of education in the country.
“7) NEC noted with grave concern the deliberate attempt by the Accountant General’s office to further impoverish our members by the refusal to pay their promotion arrears of majority since 2018. NEC also reviewed the unsatisfactory reports on payment of the withheld eight months’ salaries by government on account of the patriotic strike action of our members in 2022. NEC calls on the Federal Government to unconditionally release all the withheld salaries as a demonstration of the new administration’s desire to permanently resolve all outstanding issues related to the last strike action of our union.
8) NEC is worried about the continued victimization and onslaught against our members at the Federal University of Technology, Owerri, Ambrose Alli University Ekpoma, Kogi State University, Anyigba, Ebonyi State University, Abakaliki, Lagos State University, Ojo, etc. NEC commends the steadfastness of our victimized colleagues in these and other branches and calls on the concerned authorities to respect the fundamental human rights of our members to dignity and freedom of association and expression
“9) NEC condemns the unrelenting efforts of the National Universities Commission (NUC) to continue with the imposition of the Core Curriculum Minimum Academic Standards (CCMAS) on Nigerian universities, despite its documented shortcomings and rejection by university Senates and academic/professional associationsNEC reaffirms its position to pursue the rejection of CCMAS to a logical conclusion.
“10) NEC strongly condemns the fascist and vicious attack on the President of the Nigerian Labour Congress (NLC) in Imo state. NEC shall resist any attempt to paint the legitimate demands of the working people of Imo state and elsewhere in Nigeria in partisan colourations and demands that the perpetrators of this dastardly act should be fished out and punished in line with the provisions of the law.
“11) NEC salutes the courage, resilience and perseverance of our members in their determination to whether the storm in the face of mindless humiliation and debilitating working conditions. NEC is optimistic that with the resolve of our members, victory is near.”
