The Academic Staff Union of Universities, Emmanuel Alayande University of Education (EAUE) Chapter has called on President Bola Tinubu to rescue the Nigerian Universities system which it says is bleeding to death.
Micheal Bamidele Ojo, the ASUU Chairman of UAUE, stated this while speaking with the Press on the pitiable situations in Nigeria Public University Education and the pathetic conditions of services which puts lecturers in precarious states, stressed that of the ways to address the bleeding is for the president to rise up and sign a renegotiated agreements with the Union.
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He noted that “Salary awards are no substitutes for a negotiated Agreement. Each negotiated Agreement between the Federal Government of Nigeria (FGN) and Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) is a comprehensive package that captures not just salary component but also a gamut of requirements for bench-marking a competitive university system designed for addressing the developmental challenges of Nigeria. ASUU’s demand for negotiated salary and other Conditions of Service is anchored on the International Labour Organization’s (ILO) convention No. 98 which underscores the principle of “Collective Bargaining”. The last FGN/ASUU Agreement was in 2009.”
Ojo, who also led members of UAUED congress to street protest accused the Federal Government of unwillingness to decisively address the outstanding issues with the Union.
The Union however called on President Bola Ahmed Tinubu-led Administration to immediately set in motion the process that would lead to the review and signing of the Nimi Briggs-led renegotiated Draft Agreement as a mark of goodwill and assured hope for Nigeria’s Public Universities.
While putting the public on notice of a possible strike in the next two weeks, the ASUU Chairman noted that the Union had been sensitizing the Nigerian people in the past two months so that they will not be surprised if it resorted to strike as the last resort.
He called on “well-meaning and discerning minds, Opinion leaders, Traditional and Religious leaders, Media, Labour Movements, Students’ groups and Civil Society Organizations to prevail on the Nigerian government, at both Federal and State levels, to attend to the above stated outstanding issues and meet with our Union leadership so as to avert an unnecessary and avoidable industrial crisis in our already frail and weak University system.”
While saying that the policies of the incumbent Government has further impoverished Nigerians including lecturers, Ojo demanded that “the outstanding salaries of lecturers who participated in the strike should be paid the remaining three and half months. “ASUU is now demanding for full payment of all entitlements of our members because “No Work, No Pay” policy remains a breach of international labour law.”
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ASUU admonished “the Federal and State Governments to rise to their responsibility of adequate funding to arrest the emergent rot and decay that are becoming more noticeable on the campuses of Nigeria’s public Universities in spite of the intervention efforts of TETFund.”
The Union also called on President Bola Tinubu-led Administration to approve the immediate release of funds for the continuation of critical projects in the institutions.
