The Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) has given the federal government a three-week ultimatum to respond to its demands and avert potential industrial action.
The ASUU Federal University Dutse (FUD) Branch Chairperson in Jigawa State, Comrade Salim Ahmed, issued the warning at an emergency press conference held at the ASUU Secretariat in Dutse.
Ahmed stated, “the Members of the Expanded Executive Officers of the ASUU Federal University Dutse met today, Wednesday, 19th June 2024, to consider and take a look at the patriotic engagements of the Union with the Federal and State governments on how best to address all the lingering problems bedeviling Nigerian Public Universities”.
He noted that since the current administration took office on May 29, 2023, it has deliberately ignored ASUU’s leadership.
Efforts to convene a meeting with the government to discuss the issues, following the International Labour Organization’s principle of collective bargaining, have failed.
The renegotiation of the FGN/ASUU 2009 agreement covers critical issues such as welfare, university autonomy, funding for revitalization, and the proliferation of public universities.
Other unresolved issues include the illegal dissolution of university governing councils, withheld salaries, unpaid sabbatical and adjunct salaries due to IPPIS inefficiencies, third-party deductions, Earned Academic Allowance (EAA), and the adoption of UTAS instead of IPPIS.
Ahmed stressed the union’s frustration with the government’s inaction, stating, “Our branch, like others, believes the Federal Government is unwilling to address these outstanding issues. We resolved to inform parents and stakeholders about the situation and the government’s failure to act.”
Within the next three weeks, ASUU plans to mobilize its members for potential action and calls on well-meaning individuals to urge the government to address these issues to prevent an industrial crisis in Nigeria’s already fragile university system.