ASUU begins ‘comprehensive, total’ strike nationwide

Finally, ASUU begins ‘comprehensive, total’ strike Academic Staff Union of Universities on Monday embarked on a “comprehensive and total” strike.

ASUU President, Prof. Emmanuel Osodeke, made this declaration at a press conference, saying that the strike would last for an initial period of four weeks.

ASUU National Executive Council members had held marathon meetings since Saturday at the University of Lagos with the theme, ‘NEC for NEC.’

The Union had sensitised and mobilised lecturers and students in universities across the country on the rationale behind the union’s strike.

Last November, ASUU had issued a three-week ultimatum to the Federal Government over its failure to meet its demands.

According to the union, the Federal Government had since 2009 consistently failed to fulfil some of the agreements it made with the university lecturers.

The lecturers threatened to embark on another round of industrial action following the alleged “government’s unfaithfulness” in the implementation of the Memorandum of Action it signed with the union, leading to the suspension of the 2020 strike action.

After the union’s National Executive Council meeting at the University of Abuja on November 13 and 14, ASUU President, Prof. Emmanuel Osodeke, lamented that despite meeting with the Minister of Labour and Employment, Dr. Chris Ngige, on October 14, 2021, on issues, including funding for revitalisation of public universities, earned academic allowances, University Transparency Accountability Solution; promotion arrears, renegotiation of 2009 ASUU-FGN Agreement, and the inconsistencies in Integrated Payroll and Personnel Information System Payment, none of its demands had been met.

Following the threat, the Minister of State for Education, Emeka Nwajiuba, promised that the union would be paid.

A few weeks after, ASUU suspended the planned strike, as N22.1 billion earned allowances were paid to lecturers in federal universities.

On the heels of the union’s renewed agitations, the co-chairmen of the National Inter-religious Council, the Sultan of Sokoto, Muhammad Abubakar III, and the President of the Christian Association of Nigeria, Dr. Samson Ayokunle, visited the President, Major-General Muhammadu Buhari (retd.), last month, over the lack of implementation of the Memorandum of Understanding the government signed with ASUU in 2009 and others.

Details later…