The Academic Staff Union of Universities, ASUU, has threatened to put Nigeria’s public universities on total lockdown, if the Federal Government fails to act on its demands, in the next 48 hours
Prof. Emmanuel Osodeke, the ASUU president, said, on Monday, that the union will conclude its consultation with various branches across the federation and subsequently make its position known.
ASUU held a meeting with Minister of Labour and Employment, Chris Ngige, on October 14, 2021 on a wide range of issues.
The issues include: funding for revitalization of public universities, earned academic allowances, University Transparency Accountability Solution and promotion arrears, and the inconsistencies in the Integrated Payroll and Personnel Information System (IPPIS).
The Federal Government had promised to pay N22.1bn Earned Allowances to university workers, and N30bn as revitalization fund to universities.
The union had on November 15 given the Federal Government a three-week ultimatum, saying the treatment meted out on university lecturers has left them with no choice other than industrial action, describing government as unfaithful over the non-implementation of the Memorandum of Action (MoA) it signed with the union upon which last year’s strike action was suspended.
Speaking with Daily Trust on Monday, Osodeke said, “Since they (government) didn’t meet our requests, we are going through our normal procedures. We will go through our branches, we are going to be back from them tomorrow.
”Now that our ultimatum has expired, we are going back to them (branches), what they ask us to do, we will do; whatever actions they say we should take, we will take.”
