ASUU consults stakeholders to prevail on Nationwide Strike

As the one week warning strike of the Academic
Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) elapses on
Tuesday midnight, the Union has said that meeting
and consultations are ongoing to ensure that
government does the needful.



Speaking with Vanguard yesterday, ASUU-UNILAG
Chairman, Dr Laja Odukoya said the one week
warning strike of ASUU is still on, adding, ”it will
end Tuesday 12 midnight.



According to him, in its quest to avert the looming
indefinite strike, ASUU has been having meetings
and consultations with some stakeholders to prevail
on the Federal Government, saying, ”there is a
meeting on the issue in Abuja
today,”



Asked what follows if the Federal Government fails
to accede to their demands, Odukoya said: ”For
now the Union is not thinking of an indefinite
strike action, so there is no reason for students to
fear.”



”We shall follow up and capitalize on the leads and
massive public sympathies and support for our
cause during the one week strike to ensure that
government do the needful.
”The resort to a total, comprehensive and
indefinite strike by ASUU though cannot be wished
away should government remain recalcitrant, it not
on the bill for now.


”Strike action of whatever nature is an option of
the last resort for ASUU. All our strikes historically
were imposed and induced by government failures
to fulfil agreements.




”We therefore urges all stakeholders, particularly
students and parents to insist that government
should listen to voice of reason and safe our
educational system from avoidable dislocation and
crisis.”






You would recall that last week Wednesday, ASUU
announced a week warning strike to protest the
failure of government to implement the 2009
agreement with the union.



The area of disagreement waiting for redress
between the union and government to include
payment of fraction do staff entitlement and the
denial of staff entitlement in respect of earned
academic allowance amounting to about N128 billion,
funding of universities for revitalization and the
refusal to register the Nigerian Universities
Pension Management Company by the National
Compensation Commission.


Others include the introduction of the Treasury
Single Account (TSA) which according to the Union
affects the university autonomy, decrease in
budgetary allocation to education and the refusal
by government to renegotiate the 2009 agreement
which was due for renegotiation since 2012.