The Academic Staff Union of Universities, ASUU on Monday said its members across the country, will embark on a four-week “comprehensive and total” strike effective from February 14, 2022.
ASUU National President, Emmanuel Osodeke announced the development to journalists on Monday in Lagos, after the National Executive Council, NEC meeting of the union tagged ‘NEC for NEC.’
ASUU NEC members, including leaders across campuses held marathon meetings over the weekend.
The union had been deliberating on whether to embark on a fresh strike or not at its National Executive Council meeting, which held at the University of Lagos.
The union had earlier said its resolution on the strike action would be announced at the end of its two-day meeting which started on Saturday, February 12, 2022.
At the end of the meeting in the early hours of Monday, February 14, 2022, the union announced another round of industrial action to warn the government to do the needful.
A member of the union said, “We just want to give the government a long rope hoping that it would see the need to avoid a total paralysis of academic activities in the nation’s universities. We are parents too and have our children in the system but we cannot watch and allow the total collapse of education in the country.
“Our agitation is in the interest of all and if the system is made better, we will all enjoy it. Prominent personalities in the country have waded into the matter but the government seems recalcitrant. Our National President would explain more when he briefs the press later today.”
The union’s demands include funding for revitalisation of public universities, earned academic allowances, University Transparency Accountability Solution.
Others are: renegotiation of 2009 ASUU-FGN Agreement, and the inconsistencies in Integrated Payroll and Personnel Information System Payment.
“We don’t like to see our students at home. We don’t want our academic calendars disrupted, but our demands are not met,” Osodeke said.
The ASUU chairman also said ASUU NEC faulted the creation of new universities.
Osodeke asked the Federal Government to call the Vice-Chancellor of Obafemi Awolowo University, Ile-Ife, Eyitope Ogunbodede, to order over the unpaid Earned Academic Allowances of its members in the university.
“We have an agreed template with FG but the VC refused to pay. Failure to pay using that template is a misappropriation. He should be cautioned,” the ASUU president said.
Members of the union’s National Executive Council had held marathon meetings since Saturday at the University of Lagos titled, ‘NEC for NEC.’
ASUU had sensitised and mobilised lecturers and students across all universities on the reason the union might likely go on strike.
