Posted on: 01:59 Mon, 14 Aug 2017



Reports have it that the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) on Sunday, August 13, agreed to embark on an indefinite strike across the nation.

Daily Post is reporting that the union, according to its President, Biodun Ogunyemi, took the decision to declare the strike after deliberations at its National Executive Council (NEC) meeting held at the University of Abuja during the weekend.

In a document titled: “Strike Bulletin No.1”, which was signed and issued by Ogunyemi, ASUU said the strike action was to be a total, comprehensive and indefinite action whereby no form of academic activities including teaching, attendance of any meeting, conduct and supervision of any examination at any level, supervision of project or thesis at any level should take place at any of the nation’s universities.

Vanguard had earlier reported that the union is expected to take a final decision today, August 14, on whether it will proceed on strike over unresolved issues with the Federal Government or not.

Yesterday, Daily Sun had said that majority of ASUU branches voted overwhelmingly for the indefinite strike in an attempt to make the Federal Government implement the union’s demands which have been lingering since 2009.

ASUU members at the University of Lagos, University of Ibadan, Lagos State University, four from North East, South South and three from South East voted for the industrial action.

On Friday, ASUU branches nationwide had held a referendum in line with an earlier directive by the National Executive Council (NEC) to vote on whether the strike will be indefinite, one month, one week warning and no strike.

Some of the issues in contention include Federal Government breach of the 2009 FG/ASUU Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) on financing grant to state universities, conditions of service, non-implementation of Earned Academic Allowance (EAA) and re-negotiation of the agreement.

Other outstanding issues are non provision of revitalization funds to public universities, non release of NUPEMCO operational licence, payment of half salaries to members and the outstanding N880 billion in intervention fund government owes universities.

The union recalled that it had to embark on a six month strike between July and December 2013 and the strike was suspended when government signed an MoU with the union.

“Of all the items contained in the MoU, only the N200b out of a total of N1.3tr of the Public Universities Revitalisation (Needs Assessment) fund was released.

“The union also embarked on a one week warning strike in November 2016 to press for the implementation of 2013 MoU. However government did not implement the understanding reach between the union and Federal Government base on the intervention by the leadership of Senate of the Federal Republic of Nigeria.

“The union has also met with the 2009 Agreement Implementation Monitoring Committee, IMC, and had written several letters press releases and communiqués on the outstanding issues to no avail.

“The National Executive Council, NEC, of ASUU then met at the University of Abuja on August 12 2017 to consider the result of a referendum from all branches in a bid to ascertain ways of convincing government to implement outstanding aspects of the 2009 and the MoU of 2013”.