Nigeria’s higher education may be disrupted again following the 21-day nationwide strike ultimatum issued to the federal government over the non-implementation of the renegotiated 2009 agreement with the Federal Government by university lecturers under the aegis of the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU).
The notice is one of the highlights of the resolutions reached at the national executive council meeting of the union, which was held at the University of Ibadan at the weekend.
Although the union has yet to make its position public, a senior member of the union said that the lecturers agreed to put the Federal Government on a 21-day notice before embarking on the planned industrial action.
ASUU in July this year threatened to embark on an industrial action over the issue
The Chairman of the ASUU Gashua branch in Yobe State, Melemi Abatcha, in a press briefing at Damaturu, the state capital in July, outlined funding for the revitalisation of Nigerian public universities, and the renegotiation of the 2009 agreement as the major issues plaguing the educational sector.
“Funding for revitalising Nigeria public universities i.e. improved infrastructure, conducive teaching/learning environments, students and staff accommodation, equipping of laboratories and libraries. Consequently, the Academic Staff of Nigerian Universities have remained on the same salary structure since 2009.
“Even with the directive of Federal Executive Council (FEC) for removal of ASUU from the Integrated Personnel and Payroll Information System (IPPIS) platform since December 2023 till now, ASUU members are still being paid via the obnoxious platform (IPPIS),” he said in a statement.
Other issues highlighted include university autonomy, the proliferation of public universities, the backlog of earning academic allowances amounting to N50bn, and the withheld three-and-a-half months’ salaries of its members across the country.
Before that threat, the Minister of Education, Prof. Tahir Mamman, had on June 26, invited the union for a meeting to deliberate on the lingering issues affecting the universities. ASUU members however said nothing substantial has since been done about their demands.
