The Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU), Alex Ekwueme Federal University, Ndufu-Alike, has issued an ultimatum to the Federal Government to meet its demands before 28 August or risk industrial action.
Louis Omenyi, a professor and the union’s branch chairperson, announced this on Tuesday during a news conference at the university.
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He said that members of the union nationwide had become restive due to what he described as the government’s persistent failure to implement agreements reached with ASUU over the years.
“We state unequivocally that without urgent government intervention in these irreducible minimum demands of our union, industrial harmony can no longer be guaranteed,” Mr Omenyi said.
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According to him, the demands include the immediate signing and implementation of the draft renegotiated 2009 agreement between the union and the federal government.
Other issues, he said, were the release of three months’ outstanding salaries of members and the payment of third-party deductions being withheld under the Integrated Payroll and Personnel Information System (IPPIS).
The union also demanded the payment of promotion arrears, implementation of mainstreamed Earned Academic Allowances (EAA) in members’ salaries and removal of threats to university autonomy and academic freedom.
Mr Omenyi further demanded the immediate withdrawal of ASUU from being compelled to guarantee members for the Students’ Loan Scheme under the Tertiary Institutions Students Support Fund (TISSF).
The union also called for an end to the alleged victimisation of its members at Prince Abubakar Audu University, Ayangba, Lagos State University, and the Federal University of Technology, Owerri.
The ASUU leader also decried what he termed the government’s deliberate indifference to the plight of lecturers.
According to him, the union has exhausted all avenues of dialogue and consultation in the interest of peace and stability in the nation’s universities.
“We have been very patient and consistent in our engagements with government, but it appears that our genuine sacrifices are being taken for granted; enough is enough,” he said.
Mr Omenyi said ASUU remained committed to quality education and the defence of university autonomy, but insisted that lecturers could not continue to work under poor conditions and deliberate neglect.
He called on well-meaning Nigerians, traditional rulers, opinion leaders and civil society organisations to prevail on the government to avert another nationwide disruption of academic activities.
“Industrial action is always our last resort, but when government fails to meet its obligations, we have no other choice; the ball is now in the court of government,” he added.
ASUU and the federal government have had a long history of disagreements over funding of universities, lecturers’ welfare and implementation of agreements.
The non-implementation of these agreements has often led to several protracted strikes that crippled academic calendars across public universities.
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In 2020, for instance, the union embarked on a nine-month strike, one of the longest in its history, because of disagreement over revitalisation of universities, salaries, and IPPIS.
In 2022, there was another eight-month strike over similar demands, which forced the government to seek intervention from the judiciary before lecturers eventually returned to class.
Stakeholders fear that a fresh industrial action could worsen the challenges in Nigeria’s public universities, with millions of students already struggling to recover from previous disruptions.
