From Our Correspondent
Academic Staff Union of Universities, ASUU, University of Uyo branch, has issued a two-week ultimatum to the federal government to honour the 2009 renegotiated agreement it had with the union or risk industrial action.
Speaking during a public sensitisation protest yesterday at the University of Uyo campus, branch chairperson of ASUU, Professor Opeyemi Olajide recalled that in 2022, public universities embarked on eight months strike over outstanding issues and had to come back to the classroom in obedience to the rule of law.
He expressed regret that two years after, the federal government is not willing to honour the agreement and attend to their demands.
The chairperson explained that the union reached out to relevant authorities to intervene and make government do the needful to avert any disruption of academic activities, but there was no positive result, stressing that if after two weeks nothing is done, the union will shut down the universities and send students home.
“In 2022, ASUU was on strike for eight months, public universities in Nigeria were shut down, students were sent home because the federal government refused to address ASUU’s demands as contained in the renegotiated 2009 agreement.
“ASUU suspended the strike because our union is very civil, law abiding and has respect for the rule of law. Two years after, the federal government has refused to sign the agreement with our union.
“We are telling government and the public that if in the next two weeks nothing is done, ASUU is going to embark on yet another strike and students will be sent home,” he said.
Also speaking, Calabar Zonal Coordinator of the union, Dr Happiness Uduk disclosed that the federal government still owes lecturers in public universities three and half months salary.
She added that public universities are not functioning as expected when compared to private universities, urging the federal government to make deliberate efforts to resuscitate public education.
“Enough is enough! government is not taking care of public institutions yet they are establishing their private universities where they are taking our resources to, where they are taking our tax payers monies to.
“It has about two weeks to do something, if not, ASUU will down tools, that is what we want to tell people that it is not well with us.
“The federal government has not treated us well and to say the least, we are very hungry, whatever we are getting is not taking us home, we are requesting government to pay what it owes us, we are calling on government to make the university system functional, they should cater for universities and not to establish more without taking care of them,” she said.
