The Academic Staff Union of Universities on Monday commenced an indefinite strike action in all universities to press home their demand that the federal government meet up with implementation of the memorandum of understanding (MoU) it signed with the body.
The declaration for the strike action was made after its (ASUU) National Executive Council, NEC meeting, held at the University of Abuja on Saturday.
National President of ASUU, Comrade Biodun Ogunyemi while declaring the nationwide strike via a document titled, “Strike Bulletin No.1”, noted that the strike is to be a total, comprehensive and indefinite action whereby no form of academic activities would take place.
Also, teaching, attendance of any meeting, conduct and supervision of any examination at any level, supervision of project or thesis at any level should are barred at any of the nation’s universities.
In the bulletin Ogunyemi, recalled that ASUU had to embark on a six month strike between July and December 2013 and the strike was suspended when government signed a MoU with the union.
“Of all the items contained in the MoU, only the N200b out of a total of N1.3tr of the Public Universities Revitalization (Needs Assessment) fund was released.
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“The union also embarked on a one week warning strike in November 2016 to press for the implementation of 2013 MoU.
“However government did not implement the understanding reached between the union and Federal Government based on the intervention by the leadership of Senate of the Federal Republic of Nigeria”.
He continued “The union has also met with the 2009 Agreement Implementation Monitoring Committee, IMC, and had written several letters, press releases and communiqués on the outstanding issues to no avail.
“The National Executive Council, NEC, of ASUU then met at the University of Abuja on August 12, 2017 to consider the result of a referendum from all branches in a bid to ascertain ways of convincing government to implement outstanding aspects of the 2009 and the MoU of 2013”.
On the outstanding issues in dispute, which Federal Government is yet to address, Ogunyemi said, “payment of fractions/non-payment of salaries; non-payment of earned academic allowances, non-releases of operational license of NUPEMCO; non-implementation of the provisions of the 2014 pension reform act with respect to retired professors and their salaries.
Others are removal of universities staff schools from funding by government and funds for the revitalization of public universities.
END
