Government Not Prioritizing Our Needs – ASSU President

Following its continuous back and forth with the federal government of Nigeria, the Academic Staff Union of Universities has urged its chapters across the country to prepare for strike action and to begin sensitizing members of the public on the situation.

The National President of the Academic Staff Union of Universities, ASUU, Prof. Emmanuel Osodeke, has said the National Executive Council, NEC, of the union will decide whether members should go on strike or not over some demands made.

He said the union is still consulting and sensitizing members on the issues involved, hence, the declaration of Monday, February 7 as a lecture-free day to sensitize members and also show the displeasure of the union with the way government was handling the matter.

“We declared Monday as a lecture-free day for members to sensitize our members and let the government know that we are not happy with the manner the issue is being handled. After all this, we will collate the views and opinions of our members from across the country.

“Based on what our members say, the National Executive Council, NEC, of our great union will meet and decide whether to resume our suspended strike or not. The leaders of the union don’t act unilaterally, we act based on what our members ask us to do,” he said.

Commenting on the claim by the government that it is experiencing a shortage of funds and might not meet all the demands of the union, Osodeke noted that everything boils down to prioritizing issues.

According to him, not all the demands are monetary as some are policy matters, citing the demand of replacing the Integrated Personnel Payroll Information System, IPPIS, with the University Transparency and Accountability System, UTAS.

Meanwhile, the zonal leaderships of the union are expected to begin collating views of their branches on the issue this week for onward transmission to the national leadership.

Recall that only a few days ago, President Muhammadu Buhari urged ASUU to take note of the fact that the government is facing liquidity challenges and being under serious fiscal pressure.

He, however, said the government was committed to honoring the promises made to the union and directed the Ministers of Education, Labor, and Finance to liaise with the union to ward off any strike by the members.

He said this when he received members of the Nigeria Inter-Religious Council (NIREC) at the Council Chambers, Presidential Villa, Abuja.