Appeal to the federal government to avoid another strike, ASUU urges Nigerians



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<! – Professor Biodun Ogunyemi, president of the ASUU: partial agreement concluded with the government ->

Professor Biodun Ogunyemi, President of the ASUU

The University Academic Staff Union (ASUU) has called on well-intentioned Nigerians to urge the federal government to respect its agreement with the union to prevent a new industrial crisis in the country's higher education sector.

The union president, Professor Biodun Ogunyemi, made the call in an interview with the Nigerian News Agency (NAN) Sunday in Lagos.

Recall that the National Executive Committee of the Union (NEC) held, at the end of its meeting at the Federal University of Technology Akure (FUTA) in Ondo, on November 4, 2018, declared a national strike "global, global and undetermined" .

The strike was, however, suspended on February 7, after a series of negotiations between the parties and other relevant stakeholders.

But Ogunyemi told NAN on Sunday that "the government has not kept faith in our memorandum of understanding signed on February 7th.

"What the government should have done, they do not want to do anymore. They literally fell asleep.

"For example, they promised, before the suspension of the strike, to set up a visiting committee in our universities within two weeks and three months after the government did nothing in this regard.

"At least, not to my knowledge, they had not put up any sign or inaugurated any of them.

"On February 28 this year, the government promised to pay the union $ 25 billion in partial payment of unpaid arrears of academic allowances from the EARN network.

"Our renegotiation with Dr. Wale Babalakin promised to put us on a more cordial path with fair guidelines when we come back to the renegotiation table, but now there does not seem to be any change in attitude on the side. of the government."

According to him, the union has a timetable for every share, hence the current call for government caution.

He explained that the government had told the union that the funds had been approved, but Ogunyemi said that there was a huge difference between the approval of these funds and their implementation.

He said that three months after the approval, the funds had yet to reach the union.

"Our members have begun to express doubts about the government's promise to faithfully honor its commitment.

"And when that pressure starts to rise, leaders can not do anything because they have to listen to the voices of their supporters.

"The fact is we do not want to disrupt the academic calendar. What we do is express our concerns and move the public forward.

"Nigerians must now turn to the government to talk about all these issues in order to maintain the precarious industrial stability that currently prevails on our campuses," he said.

He said that although Malam Adamu, Minister of Education, badured the union that the payment would be made soon, he however expressed concern that the time allotted was essential for its members to 39, nationally.

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