The Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) has given the Federal Government a 21-day ultimatum to address what it describes as unresolved issues.
Speaking to the press at Michael Okpara University of Agriculture Umudike on Wednesday, ASUU President Emmanuel Osodeke outlined several key concerns.
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Osodeke listed issues including the “emergency revitalisation fund of public universities, payment of outstanding earned academic allowances, and the release of withheld salaries, promotion arrears, and third-party deductions for members.” He also mentioned concerns about illegal recruitments, the proliferation of public universities, and the need for universities to be removed from the treasury single account to ensure their autonomy.
The union’s National Executive Council meeting, held at the University of Ibadan from August 17 to 18, 2024, involved a thorough review of the ongoing challenges faced by Nigerian universities. Osodeke noted that the meeting addressed worsening conditions and failed government promises, which had previously led to a nationwide strike from February to October 2022.
He emphasized that the exodus of skilled scholars to other countries and the government’s inadequate response have deepened ASUU’s concerns. “Our union is worried that Government appears fixated on its self-serving approach of legalistic and bureaucratic arm-twisting,” Osodeke said.
ASUU condemned the Federal and State Governments’ failure to address longstanding issues and rejected the slow pace of intervention by the Minister for Education. The union has given the government 21 days to resolve these issues and will meet again at the end of this period to decide on further actions.
ASUU also reiterated its commitment to national dialogue and urged the government to move beyond “ethnic suspicion, religious bigotry, and plutocratic tendencies” to foster unity and collective progress.
