MEMBERS of the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) have stated that they may be forced to go on strike due to their displeasure with how the states and federal government are handling their requests.
According to a statement signed by the union’s president, Professor Emmanuel Osodeke, the decision was made following a meeting of the national executive council.
According to him, governments have made no real steps to meet their requests during the last ten years.
Some of the requests he listed included the sanctity of legally constituted Governing Councils, review of the 2009 federal government and ASUU agreement, revitalization fund for public universities, payment of all earned academic allowances, including withheld salaries, and promotion arrears.
Other issues include alleged illegal recruiting at universities, the proliferation of public universities, and the continuous use of the Treasury Single Account (TSA) and the new Integrated Payroll and Personnel Information System (IPPIS).
He also stated that the union will reassemble in two weeks, beginning on Saturday, to assess the situation and take decisive measures to fix the issues.
Recall that in January, President Bola Tinubu approved the disbursement of about N683 billion as a 2024 intervention fund for the country’s public tertiary institutions.
Also in January, the FG approved the disbursement of N5.1 billion for the Tertiary Education Trust Fund (TETFund) National Research Fund 2023 Grant Cycle.
