By Uche Onyeali
Academic Staff Union of Universities, ASUU, has issued a 14-day ultimatum to the federal government to meet its demands.
The union warned that all public universities would be shut down if the federal government fails to address ligering issues affecting universities after the altimatum.
ASUU, in a statement issued yesterday, after its National Executive Council, NEC, meeting at the University of Abuja, decried what it described as the federal government’s consistent neglect of public universities and the welfare of its members.
The lecturers lamented that despite the recent protests across public universities to draw attention to its pressing demands, t
government offered no tangible response.
The statement signed by the ASUU President, Professor Christopher Piwuna, said if the federal government fails to respond to the 14-day ultimatum, public university lecturers would first embark on a two-week warning strike, after which they might proceed on a total and indefinite shutdown of universities nationwide.
According to the statement, the demands include renegotiation of the 2009 ASUU-FGN Agreement; sustainable funding of universities; revitalisation of public universities and an end to the victimisation of ASUU members at the Lagos State University, LASU, Prince Abubakar Audu University, Kogi and the Federal University of Technology, Owerri, FUTO.
Others are payment of outstanding 25–35 percent salary arrears; resolution of delayed promotion arrears spanning over four years and settlement of outstanding third-party deductions.
