The Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) has threatened to initiate an indefinite strike due to the federal government’s failure to honor the 2009 agreement it reached with the union.
During a news conference in Jos on Friday, Timothy Namo, the Bauchi zonal coordinator of ASUU, announced that the union had issued a 21-day ultimatum following its National Executive Council (NEC) meeting on August 17-18.
“As we speak, the government has not honoured any of the agreements or addressed our concerns,” Mr. Namo stated.
He explained that after the initial ultimatum expired, ASUU issued another 14-day ultimatum starting from September 23.
“So, we want Nigerians to blame the federal government if ASUU decides to down tools and shut down public universities,” he added.
Mr. Namo highlighted several ongoing issues, including the failure to conclude negotiations on the 2009 agreement, the non-payment of three-and-a-half months of salaries owed to academic staff, unpaid salaries for adjunct academic staff, and outstanding third-party deductions.
Other lingering concerns mentioned were inadequate 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 visitation panel reports to universities, among others.
