ASUU confirms extension of strike by 12 weeks

The Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) President, Mr Emmanuel Osodeke, has confirmed that ASUU has extended the strike by 12 weeks.

Our correspondent reports that extension will by another 12 weeks, will make it 20 weeks students will stay at home.

Osodeke told our correspondent in a telephone interview on Monday in Abuja, that it extended its roll-over strike for another 12 weeks to enable the Federal Government address issues in concrete terms.

He said that the extension was due to the Federal Government’s failure to implement the agreement entered with the union.

Our correspondent reports that the union had embarked a nationwide warning strike from Feb. 14 to press home its members’ demands.

The first warning strike started on Feb. 14 for four weeks and the second strike commenced on March 15 for another four weeks, while the third one is announced on May 9 for another 12 weeks.

The lecturers’ demands include funding of the Revitalisation of Public Universities, Earned Academic Allowances, University Transparency Accountability Solution (UTAS) and promotion arrears.

Others are the renegotiation of 2009 ASUU-FG Agreement and the inconsistency in Integrated Personnel Payroll Information System.

Our correspondent recalls that the union during its last National Executive Council (NEC) meeting noted that it was disappointed that government had not treated the matters with utmost urgency they deserved and as expected of a reasonable, responsive, and well-meaning administration.

“NEC viewed government’s response so far as a continuation of the unconscionable, mindless and nonchalant attitude of the Nigerian ruling elite toward the proven path of the national development which is education.

“NEC, having taken reports on the engagement of the trustees and principal officers with the government concluded that government had failed to satisfactorily address all the issues raised in the 2020 FGN/ASUU Memorandum of Action within the four-weeks-roll over strike period.

“NEC resolved that the strike be rolled over for another eight weeks to give government more time to address all the issues in concrete terms so that government will resume as soon as possible,” it said.