The national leadership of the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) will meet today (Tuesday) to decide the next line of action on its ongoing strike, amid signs that most university branches have voted to continue the industrial action.
The meeting follows the intervention of the Federal Government’s Renegotiation Team, led by Alhaji Yayale Ahmed, which recently presented a documented response and made new offers to address some of the union’s long-standing demands.
In a strike bulletin issued Monday, ASUU said progress had been recorded in a few areas — including the release of third-party deductions, settlement of promotion arrears, mainstreaming of Earned Academic Allowances (EAA), and issues surrounding the confiscation of University of Abuja land and victimisation of members at Kogi State University (KSU), Lagos State University (LASU), and Federal University of Technology, Owerri (FUTO).
However, despite these developments, early indications show that the majority of ASUU’s local branches voted in favour of continuing the strike during congress meetings held nationwide on Monday.
“Here in our branch, almost everyone was in support of the strike continuing. It’s just a formality now. The NEC meeting will make our position official,” an ASUU official at the University of Abuja told reporters.
The union had earlier issued a 14-day ultimatum to the Federal Government to conclude and implement the renegotiation of the 2009 FGN/ASUU Agreement, among other demands.
NLC Issues Four-Week Ultimatum to Federal Government
Meanwhile, the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) has thrown its weight behind ASUU, warning the government to meet the demands of unions in the tertiary education sector within four weeks or face a nationwide shutdown.
Addressing journalists in Abuja after a meeting with leaders of education-based unions, NLC President, Joe Ajaero, said the ultimatum was necessary to avoid what he described as the government’s “habitual foot-dragging” on education-related agreements.
“The four weeks is to enable the government address all outstanding issues, including the 2009 agreement with ASUU,” Ajaero said.
“If the government fails, the NLC will commence an indefinite strike.”
Public Analyst Faults Government’s “Passive Attitude”
Reacting to the development, Nduka Odo, a public affairs analyst and communications specialist at Peaceland University, Enugu, blamed the protracted crises in Nigeria’s universities on the government’s neglect of education and disregard for lecturers.
“No serious nation treats its lecturers the way Nigeria does. These are the builders of nations, yet they are owed salaries and denied research grants,” Odo said
“Each time ASUU raises its voice, the same cycle repeats — promises, committees, silence, and another strike.”
Odo urged the government to treat education as a national emergency, honour existing agreements, and restore public confidence in Nigeria’s higher education system.
“Until the government stops playing politics with education, the cycle of strikes and empty promises will continue — and each repetition erodes what is left of our national integrity,” he said.
ASUU’s National Executive Council (NEC) meeting later today is expected to determine whether the union will suspend, continue, or escalate its strike, depending on the outcome of deliberations on the government’s latest offers.