ASUU Gives FG Condition, Ultimatum To Stop Imminent Strike

The Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) has hinted that the union won’t go on strike if the federal government meets its demands within the next two weeks.

ASUU President, Professor Emmanuel Osodeke, gave the update on Monday during an interview with newsmen.

According to him, after the meeting with the Minister of Education, Tahir Mamman, on June 26, it was agreed that both parties would meet again in two weeks’ time to evaluate the progress that has been made on their demands.

“At the meeting called by the Minister of Education, we agreed that after two weeks, we will meet to see the progress the government has made.

“We will also see what we will do next if the government fail to implement the agreements reached.

“The meeting in the next two weeks is to see what they have done which will inform our decision,” Osodeke said.

It would be recalled that ASUU had threatened to embark on strike over the non-implementation of agreements reached with the federal government.

Some of the demands included the non-implementation of the 2009 re-negotiated agreements, academic allowances, and revitalization fund as well as the exit of the university salary payment from the Integrated Personnel and Payroll Information System, as approved by the Federal Executive Council in January.

“Since 2013, only one has been paid. We need revitalisation funds to upgrade our universities to standard so that we can have students and lecturers from outside the country,” he said.

Osodeke also accused the government of the proliferation of universities, adding that many new universities were being approved without funds to run them.