The federal government has slated Monday to meet with the leadership of Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU)in the wake of the union’s fresh threat to embark on strike over unmet demands.
ASUU had issued a 21-day strike notice to the government on Wednesday asking the President Bola Tinubu-led administration to address all unresolved matters obstructing the development of Nigerian universities.
The National President of ASUU, Emmanuel Osodeke, gave the notice at a press conference held at the Michael Okpara University of Agriculture, Umudike, Abia State.
In a bid to avert the strike, the Minister of Education, Tahir Mamman, disclosed in an interview on ‘Beyond 100 days’ programme with TVC on Thursday that the government officials will be meeting with the Union leadership on Monday.
He said the government is committed to addressing their concerns, including the non-implementation of the 2009 renegotiated agreement.
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“We have already sent out notice to the leadership of ASUU for us to meet on Monday. On Wednesday, we reviewed the letter submitted by ASUU and all the issues which are listed in the letter. It is our hope that by Monday we will meet to discuss them,” he said.
Mr Mamman acknowledged the historic nature of the issues, but expressed optimism that the demand can be resolved before the expiration of the 21-day strike notice issued by the union.
“Some of the issues are historical in nature; when you talk about the 2009 agreement. This is something that dates back to almost 1981 when they started,” he said.
He added that the government had been having a series of conversations with ASUU leadership on the issues affecting the university system in order for them to come together to address all the concerns.
ASUU last went on a protracted eight-month strike from February to October in 2022 over the same demands, which the government has yet to address.
The union held its National Executive Council (NEC) meeting on 17 – 18 August at the University of Ibadan, where they agreed to issue a 21-day ultimatum to the federal and state governments to address the lingering issues affecting public universities.
The union’s National President, Emmanuel Osodeke, announced the ultimatum, condemning the government’s refusal to address the issues raised by the union.
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The issues includes the reviewing and signing the renegotiated 2009 FGN-ASUU Agreement, demand for impactful funding, including the Emergency Revitalisation Fund for public universities and payment of outstanding earned academic allowances.
The union also demands the release of withheld salaries, promotion arrears, and third-party deductions of its members, stoppage of illegal recruitments, proliferation of public universities, and abuse of universities’ laws, regulations, and processes.
ASUU also wants the removal of universities from the Treasury Single Account and new IPPIS vis-a-vis to herald the autonomy of universities.