ASUU Protests, Urges President Tinubu to Enforce Prof. Nimi Briggs Committee’s Salary Agreement.
On Thursday, members of the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) from Abubakar Tafawa Balewa University (ATBU), Bauchi, staged a protest demanding that President Bola Tinubu ensure the immediate implementation of the Prof. Nimi Briggs Committee’s agreement on salary renegotiations for federal university academic staff.
The protesters marched from their secretariat at the Yelwa campus to the main gate, carrying placards to highlight their grievances. Comrade Ibrahim Inuwa, the branch chairperson of ASUU at ATBU, criticized the government for not updating academic salaries to reflect current economic conditions and for the continued poor funding of universities.
Inuwa pointed out that ASUU members have been stuck with the same salary system for 15 years, despite numerous attempts to renegotiate. He emphasized that the demand for a new pay package aligns with the International Labour Organisation (ILO) Convention No. 98, which supports collective bargaining.
He noted that the 2009 FGN/ASUU Agreement stipulated a review every three years, but the agreement has remained unreviewed for 15 years. Efforts to renegotiate through committees led by Wale Babalakin, Prof. Munzali Jibrin, and the late Emeritus Prof. Nimi Briggs resulted in draft agreements that have not been finalized since 2021.
ASUU’s protest underscores a persistent issue of stagnant wages and ongoing delays in finalizing agreements that impact the academic community’s financial and operational well-being.