The Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) has threatened to embark on an indefinite strike due to the Federal Government’s failure to honor the 2009 agreement reached with the union. Prof. Timothy Namo, the Bauchi Zonal Coordinator of ASUU, made this announcement during a news conference in Jos on Friday.
Namo stated that following the National Executive Council (NEC) meeting held between August 17 and August 18, the union issued a 21-day ultimatum to the government. “As we speak, the government has not honored any of the agreements or addressed our concerns,” he said.
After the initial ultimatum expired, ASUU issued another 14-day ultimatum beginning September 23. Namo emphasized that if ASUU decides to down tools and shut down public universities, the blame should fall squarely on the federal government.
He highlighted several lingering issues that have prompted the union’s actions, including the non-conclusion of the re-negotiation of the 2009 agreement, the non-release of three and a half months’ salaries of academic staff, unpaid salaries for all academic staff on adjunct appointments, and outstanding third-party deductions.
Additional concerns include poor funding for the revitalization of public universities, the non-payment of Earned Academic Allowances (EAA) as outlined in the 2023 budget, the proliferation of universities, and the non-implementation of reports from visitation panels to universities, among others.