Following positive responses from its recent consultations with different arms of government as well as public outcry, the leadership of the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) has finally bowed to pressure and postponed its decision to embark on another round of strike.
National President of ASUU, Prof. Emmanuel Osedeke who confirmed the development last Monday after the meeting of the National Executive Council (NEC) of the union, noted however, that other levels of consultations were still going on.
The union particularly welcomed the recommendation of the National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA) that the platform – University Transparency Accountability Solutions (UTAS)-developed by the university lecturers be deployed in government Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs).
The ASUU President, Prof. Osedeke said areas highlighted by NITDA in its reports would be addressed.
In a statement entitled, “Enough of blackmail”, signed by ASUU President noted that the meeting held at its Festus Iyayi National Secretariat, University of Abuja, Saturday to review the level of government’s implementation of the FGN-ASUU Memorandum of Action MoA of 23rd December, 2020, and other related matters.
Prof. Osedeke expressed regrets that the Federal Government had turned down its back on the plan to set up an inter-ministerial committee to review the draft renegotiated 2009 FGN-ASUU Agreement.
ASUU had earlier announced plans to embark on a strike over the Federal Government’s failure to implement the agreement reached with the union.
Apart from the Earned Allowances, ASUU said its demands included the review of the National Universities Commission (NUC) Act to curb the proliferation of universities by state governments that were not funding the existing ones; adoption of the University Transparency Accountability Solutions (UTAS), with concurrent discontinuance of the Integrated Payroll and Personnel Information System (IPPIS) and distortion in salary payment.
Others were the release of accumulated promotion arrears; and the review and signing of the renegotiation of 2009 ASUU-FGN agreement.
The statement read in part: “NEC was worried by the spirited efforts of government agents to reduce the demand of ASUU to a regime of intermittent payment of watered-down revitalisation fund and release of distorted and grossly devalued Earned Academic Allowances.
“ASUU shall not relent in demanding improvement in the welfare and conditions of service of our members. However, we shall resist any attempt to blackmail the union and derail our patriotic struggle for a productive university system by official propaganda founded on tokenism and crumb-sharing.
“NEC concluded that government has failed to satisfactorily address all the issues raised in the 2009 FGN-ASUU agreement and subsequent Memorandum of Understandings (MoUs), and MoAs.
However, considering the ongoing intervention and consultation efforts, NEC resolved to review the situation at a later date with a view to deciding on the next line of action.