Complete ongoing renegotiation of agreement to avert strike, ASUU urges FG

Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) has called on the Federal Government to complete the ongoing renegotiation of the agreement earlier reached with the union to avert another strike.

ASUU Chairman, University of Ibadan (UI) branch, Prof. Ayoola Akinwole, made the call during a town hall in Ibadan on Wednesday.

NEWSVERGE reports that the town hall was organised by ASUU to sensitise parents, students and the general public on the need for government to address the issues affecting university education in Nigeria.

Akinwole listed ASUU’s demands to include: logical conclusion of the renegotiation of 2009 FGN/ASUU agreement, funding for revitalisation of public universities based on the FGN-ASUU MoU of 2012, 2013, and the MoA of 2017.

Others are: reinstatement of the governing councils in universities, release of unpaid salaries of staff on sabbatical, release of deductions, payment of Earned Academic Allowances, proliferation of public universities, implementation of UTAS in place of IPPIS and implementation of visitation panels’ reports.

“There are templates on ground that we expect this government to implement. All that need to be done are already in the template.

“We are holding similar town hall meetings at Ladoke Akintola University of Technology (LAUTECH), Ogbomoso, and other schools to make our position known to the public.

“Government should not wait till when another industrial action is declared before looking at our demands.

“Government has not sat down with ASUU and concluded discussions on what led to the industrial crises in the 2020 and 2022.

“We want government’s response expeditiously because the patience of our members is getting thinner and thinner by the day,” he said.

Akinwole said that the union had written an open letter to the government on its demands through newspapers, as all the letters previously written had neither been acknowledged nor replied.

“What we are saying in the open letter is that we are giving government another period of four weeks, starting from June 8.

“If, at the expiration of the four weeks, government fails to take any positive steps toward addressing the outstanding issues, the union will be forced to look for other means of expressing its grievances,” he said.

On the issue of minimum wage, the union leader said that it was unfortunate that government chose to step it down for another round of consultations.

Akinwole wondered how long it took the federal government and the national assembly to sort out the re-introduced national anthem.

He decried a situation whereby government had to continue consulting when it comes to issues concerning the masses, the workers and the downtrodden.

In his remarks, the Students’ Union President, University of Ibadan, Bolaji Aweda, pledged the union’s support to ASUU.

According to him, ASUU’s demands will lead to improvement in the standard of university education in Nigeria.

A parent, who was also one of the speakers at the meeting, Mrs Oluwakemi Ademola-Aremu, called for more investment in education so as to positively train the minds of the youth who would become leaders in the future.