The Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) has postponed its decision to embark on strike while consultations are ongoing, a statement from the union states.
Meanwhile, ASUU is accusing the federal government of blackmail.
The union claimed that the Muhammadu Buhari-led government is reneging on plans to review the draft renegotiated 2009 FGN-ASUU agreement.
ASUU met on Saturday, December 18 at the union’s national secretariat, University of Abuja, to review the level of government’s implementation of the FGN-ASUU memorandum of action of December 23, 2020, and other related matters.
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Emmanuel Osodeke, the ASUU president in a statement titled, ‘Enough of blackmail’ affirmed the union’s commitment to continually fight for the welfare of lecturers in Nigeria.
In the statement, the union maintained that the federal government had repeatedly failed to implement all the issues raised in the 2009 agreements.
“NEC was worried by the spirited efforts of government agents to reduce the demands of ASUU to a regime of intermittent payment of watered-down revitalisation fund and release of distorted and grossly devalued Earned Academic Allowances.
“ASUU shall not relent in demanding improvement in the welfare and conditions of service of our members.
However, we shall resist any attempt to blackmail the union and derail our patriotic struggle for a productive university system by official propaganda founded on tokenism and crumb-sharing.
“However, considering the ongoing intervention and consultation efforts, NEC resolved to review the situation at a later date to decide on the next line of action,” the statement states.
