The Academic Staff Union of Universities, ASUU, University of Uyo chapter, has issued a two-week ultimatum to the Federal Government to uphold the 2009 renegotiated agreement it had with the union or risk industrial action.
In a public sensitization protest on Wednesday at the University of Uyo town campus, the Chairperson of ASUU, Prof Opeyemi Olajide, recalled that in 2022, public universities embarked on eight months strike over the outstanding issues and had to come back to classrooms in obedience to the rule of law.
He expressed regret that the Federal Government still refuses to abide by the agreement and meet their demands after two years.
The union’s chairperson emphasized that if, after two weeks, nothing is done to prevent any disruption to academic activities, the union will close the universities and send the students home. She said that the union had reached out to the appropriate authorities to intervene and force the government to take the necessary action.
He declared, “In 2022, ASUU went on an eight-month strike, public universities in Nigeria were closed, and students were sent home because the federal government of Nigeria refused to address ASUU demands as stated in the 2009 agreement that the Academic Staff Unions of Nigerian Universities had with them, which had been renegotiated.”
“The reason ASUU called off the strike is that we are a very polite, law-abiding union that values the rule of law. The Federal Government has declined to ratify the deal with our union two years later.
“We are informing the public and government that ASUU will go on another strike and send students home if nothing is done in the next two weeks.”
Speaking at the demonstration, ASUU’s Calabar Zone Zonal Coordinator, Dr. Happiness Uduk, revealed that the federal government still owes public school teachers three and a half months’ worth of wages.
She urged the federal government to make concerted efforts to revive the public education system, pointing out that public universities are not operating as envisioned when compared to private colleges.
“Enough is enough! While they are building their own private universities and using our resources and tax dollars there, the government is neglecting public institutions.
“We want to let people know that things are not right with us. The Federal Government has roughly two weeks to act, and if it doesn’t, ASUU will disband.
“To put it mildly, the federal government has not treated us well. We are extremely hungry, and whatever we are getting does not bring us home. We are pleading with the government to reimburse us for what we are owed, to restore the university system, and to pay us our EAA. They should also take care of the universities they have brought, rather than creating new ones without providing for the needs of the existing ones.”
Prof. Aniekan Brown, a former ASUU zonal coordinator, stated that the union has long advocated for “education for all.”
He argued for pay increases for lecturers, pointing out that their workload is out of proportion to their compensation.
Brown bemoaned the oppressive amount of taxation by the federal government, saying that even with the meager and stagnant earnings, lecturers still had to pay up to 90% of their income in taxes.