By Emmanuel Adeleke
The Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) has extended its ongoing strike by 12 weeks.
This was contained in a statement issued on Monday by ASUU president, Prof. Emmanuel Osodeke, after an emergency National Executive Council (NEC) meeting held at the union’s national secretariat in Abuja.
He said the decision will give the government enough time to satisfactorily resolve all the outstanding issues.
The emergency meeting, which had in attendance principal officers and branch chairmen, started on Sunday and ended early Monday morning.
The two month rollover strike declared on March 14, 2022, by ASUU ended on Monday May 9.
Osodeke said the NEC felt the need to extend it by 12 weeks after initial agitation for indefinite strike because of the government’s failure to address the issues in contention.
At the last meeting with government negotiation team led by Prof. Nimi Briggs, ASUU officials walked out, but there are reports that the both parties would meet next week.
“ASUU did not receive any invitation from the Federal Government, they did not call us. We are not begging them to meet with us and we will not go to them if they do not invite us.” ASUU President.
ASUU’s demands include the non-implementation of the Memorandum of Action (MoA) signed with government in December 2020 on funding for revitalisation of public universities (both federal and states); renegotiation of the 2009 FGN/ ASUU agreement and the deployment of the University Transparency and Accountability Solution (UTAS).
Other outstanding issues are earned academic allowances; state universities, promotion arrears, withheld salaries, non-remittance of third-party deductions.
