By Muhammad Ibrahim, Sokoto
The said eleven items are based on the renegotiation of FGN/ASUU 2009 Agreement; withheld salary; arreas of earned academic allowance; illegal dissolution of governing councils; intergrated payroll and personel informarion system; core curriculum and minimum academic standard; proliferation of Universities; TETFund intervention; underfunding of Universities and deepening socio-economic crisis among others.
The zonal coordinator of the Universities, Professor Abubakar Sabo who briefed the press said the last agreement on renegotiation was in 2009 where Federal government set up the Wale Babalakin led Joint Renegotiation Committee in 2017 but due to the Chairman’s insistence on the re-introction of the Education Bank, the process was stalled for over two years.
He several negotiations truncated the process at the point of finalising the reviewed draft agreement.
On the issue of withheld salaries, the Professor said the last administration engineered by Senator Ngige activated the obnoxious “No work no pay” policy by withholding seven months lecturers’ salaries in Federal Universities and varying months in state Universities.
“There is no justification for withholding lecturers salaries if not for the grand design by the ruling class to emasculate and ridicle them”.
However, the Professor also discussed several issues boardering the cordial relationship between Federal government and Academic Staff Union of Universities.
Representatives of Usman Danfodio University, Sokoto; Umar Musa Yar Aduwa University Katsina; Kebbi state University of Science and Technology; Kebbi State University; Sokoto State University and Federal University Birnin Kebbi attended the briefing.
Others are Federal University Dutsinma, Katsina; Shehu Shagari University of Education and Federal University Gusau, Zamfara state.
