The Academic Staff Union of Universities, (ASUU), has issued a three-weeks ultimatum to Federal Government to respond to its demands, to avoid industrial action.
?Chairperson ASUU Federal University Dutse, FUD, Branch in Jigawa State, Comrade Salim Ahmed gave the warning at an emergency press conference held at FUD, ASUU Secretariat in Dutse.
According to him, “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 said ASUU observed that the present administration deliberately ignored the leadership of the Union since its inception on 29th May, 2023.
“All efforts were put in place by the leadership of the Union to get the government to convene a meeting and listen to ASUU in order to iron out the contending issues, as contained in the International Labour Organization, ILO’s principle of collective bargaining, have failed,” he added.
?Ahmed said the renegotiation of the FGN/ASUU 2009 agreement contains all the core issues of ASUU Members welfare, University Autonomy, Funding for Revitalisation of Nigerian Universities and Proliferations of Public Universities.
?He added that the core issues that pertain to condition of service includes all the contending issues as contained in the FGN/ASUU MoU 2012/2013, and the MoA of 2017, Illegal dissolution of Governing Councils in the Federal and State Universities, Release of three and a half (7) months of the outstanding three and a half (7 ) months withheld salaries for a work that was already done, amongst others.
?“The general public should be aware of the true state of affairs. ?The union calls on all well-meaning discerning minds to prevail on Nigerian Government to attend to these 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”, Ahmed added.
He disclosed that the union would, within the next three weeks, set machinery in motion to further mobilise its members and sensitize them for further action.
