Tag: ASUU strike

  • Strike: FG Yet To Meet Most Of Our Demands – ASUU

    Strike: FG Yet To Meet Most Of Our Demands – ASUU

    The Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) has said that the Federal Government is yet to address most of the demands it made during the strike it embarked upon in 2022.

    ASUU had in October 2022, called off an eight-month strike after a series of negotiations with the Federal Government. Part of the lecturers’ demands is the release of revitalization funds for universities, renegotiation of the 2009 FGN/ASUU agreement, release of earned allowances for university lecturers, and deployment of the University Transparency and Accountability Solution (UTAS).

    In an interview with Channels TV on Thursday, April 6, ASUU president, Emmanuel Osodeke, said the government is yet to address most of its demands including the payment of salary backlogs.

    “As far as this present government is concerned, once the strike is over, the issue is resolved unknown to them that a strike is a symptom of a problem. They have abandoned the problem. Since we called off the strike based on a court directive, not a single meeting has been called. Not a kobo has been paid,” he said

    According to him, the union members are battling to meet up with the academic calendar in spite of the government’s posture.

    “It is so unfortunate that they don’t have any regard for the Nigerian education system,” Osodeke added

    The ASUU chief also spoke about the recently approved N320.3 billion 2023 intervention for public tertiary institutions. He commended the government for the fund release and asked for redistribution of the fund to ensure 90% goes to the tertiary institutions.

    “It (N320bn fund) is a good development, this is part of what we struggle for in 1994, it is our struggle, but there are issues we need to sort out,” Osodeke said.

    When you check the allocation of about N1.2 billion to universities and others, you find out that the total for all the universities, polytechnics, and colleges of education come to just about N186 billion allocated out of about N320, leaving a balance of N132 billion that has not been accounted for. What are we using that N132 billion which is 41% of the total amount of money? Is it for bureaucracy or for what?

    “This is what has been happening in TETFund and I think there is a need to examine what exactly is happening at TETFund. The idea of this TETFund when it was negotiated by ASUU was that this money will come and be distributed to the universities, not keeping 41% for whatever purpose.

    “I think we need a redistribution of this fund to ensure that it accounts for 90% of what has been approved to go to universities, polytechnic and not kept as bureaucracy or whatever. You need to tell the public what TETFund is doing with the balance of N132 billion,” the ASUU chairman said.

  • Court Order Made Us Suspend Strike, Issues Still Not Resolved by FG – ASUU

    Court Order Made Us Suspend Strike, Issues Still Not Resolved by FG – ASUU

    President of the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU), Emmanuel Osodeke, has said that lecturers in the country called off their 8-month strike due to court order obtained by the federal government.

    Osodeke who said this during an interview on Channels TV’s ‘Sunday Politics’, further averred that they are hoping the government will do the needful now the strike has been suspended.

    He said;

    “The issues have not been fully resolved and no agreement has been signed. So, we are resuming because we are a law abiding body and we don’t want to break the law. We are also hoping that the intervention of the speaker, as promised by him, will resolve these problems in a very short time.”

    When asked if this means the lecturers are not happy to be resuming, Osodeke said:

    “Definitely.

    “In trade dispute, especially one involving university academics, the best option is negotiation and then you end it within a very short time,” he said.

    “But the minister of labour believes that the best way is to force them to class. It’s so sad, but because of the interest of the Nigerian students, their parents, and the speaker, our members will teach.

    “Any country that plays with education creates room for insecurity.

    “We want the next administration to follow the trend of neighbouring countries and allocate not less than 16 percent of the budget to education. When this is done, these problems will be sorted out. Our children will go to school effortlessly.”

  • ASUU Strike: Final year medical student turned food vendor dies

    ASUU Strike: Final year medical student turned food vendor dies

    Usman Abubakar-Rimi, a Medicine and Surgery final-year student of Usmanu Danfodiyo University Sokoto (UDUS), who ventured into the food selling business due to the prolonged ASUU strike, has died.

    Mr Abubakar-Rimi opened a food outlet and noodles joint in the Diplomat area in Sokoto.

    The medical student died on Wednesday after a brief illness.

    The death was confirmed to journalists on Saturday by the chairman of 21st Century Entrepreneur Hub, Umar Idris, a close associate of the deceased.

    Mr Idris said the deceased had been buried according to Islamic rites in his hometown, Rimi, in Rimi Local Government Area of Katsina state.

    He described the deceased as a humble person and a dedicated student and entrepreneur.

    In an exclusive interview with the deceased on September 9, 2022, he said the prolonged industrial action embarked on by the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) allowed him to begin the food business.

    The deceased also said he utilised the period of the COVID-19 lockdown to start an egg and chicken distribution business.

  • ASUU Strike Must Never Happen Again – Gbajabiamila

    ASUU Strike Must Never Happen Again – Gbajabiamila

    Speaker of the House of Representatives, Femi Gbajabiamila, said all hands must be on deck to ensure academic strikes in universities become a thing of the past.

    The Speaker made the comment in a statement welcoming the end of an eight-month long strike embarked upon by the Academic Staff Union of Universities.

    STATEMENT BY THE SPEAKER OF THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES, REP. FEMI GBAJABIAMILA ON THE SUSPENSION OF STRIKE ACTION BY THE ACADEMIC STAFF UNION OF UNIVERSITIES (ASUU).

    Friday, 14th October 2022

    1. I am pleased by the decision by the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) to suspend their ongoing strike action.  This decision is the right call as it allows students at public universities in the country to resume their academic activities.

    2. I thank the President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, His Excellency Muhammdu Buhari, GCFR; Secretary to the Government of the Federation, Mr Boss Mustapha; Minister of Education, Alhaji Adamu Adamu; Minister of Labour, Senator Chris Ngige; Professor Emmanuel Osodeke and the leadership of the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) for working to resolve the issues that necessitated the strike action.

    3. I also appreciate my colleagues in the House of Representatives for the decision to intervene in negotiations with the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU).  I am confident that the House will endeavour to ensure that the Federal Government keeps its commitments to the union and universities.

    4. It is regrettable that this strike action happened in the first place. It is even more unfortunate that it lasted as long as it did.  We must make sure it never happens again.  Our public universities should be citadels of learning and innovation, where young people discover themselves and reach for the stars.  That is not now the case.  Changing that requires that we admit certain harsh truths and take radical action.  

    5. The suspension of this strike does not mean all the issues of funding, education standard, and student and staff welfare have been resolved.  Therefore, we must not rest on our oars.  Instead, let this be a call to action for the government, universities, unions, and citizens to begin the critical conversation about the future of public tertiary education in the country. I assure you that this is an objective the House of Representatives will pursue with dedication and determination.

    6. I wish our young people Godspeed as they return to school.  I encourage them to ensure that the disruption to the academic calendar does not deter them from pursuing their ambitions and achieving their best dreams.

    7. May God bless and keep you, and God bless our Federal Republic of Nigeria.

    Rep. Femi Gbajabiamila

    Speaker of the House of Representatives

  • UPDATE: ASUU Finally Suspend Strike After 8 Months

    UPDATE: ASUU Finally Suspend Strike After 8 Months

    The Academic Staff Union of Universities, ASUU, has suspended its eight-month-old industrial action.

    A member of the union’s National Executive Committee, NEC, confirmed this on Friday Morning.

    ASUU decided to suspend the strike during a meeting of its leadership that started on Thursday night and lasted into the early hours of Friday.

    The state branches of the union met over the Court of Appeal ruling last week, following which members voted to conditionally suspend the strike.

    The Court of Appeal had issued an order to ASUU to suspend the strike before its appeal of the ruling ordering lecturers to resume work could be heard.

    The National Executive Committee meeting was attended by chairmen of the state chapters and national executive members at the ASUU National Secretariat in Abuja.

    ASUU had been on strike since February 14 this year.

  • STRIKE: ASUU to Hold Emergency Meeting 13th October

    STRIKE: ASUU to Hold Emergency Meeting 13th October

    The striking Academic Staff Union of Universities, ASUU, will on Thursday, October 13, convene an emergency National Executive Council, NEC meeting, to review recent developments, especially the positive response from the federal government to its demands.

    Ahead of the meeting, the leadership of the union has asked its zonal branches to collate the views of members through votes and transmit the outcome at the meeting to be held in Abuja on Thursday. The outcome of Thursday’s meeting would result in the suspension of the strike late Thursday or Friday morning.

    The leadership of the union held a meeting with the leadership of the House of Representatives on Monday, September 10 and hinted on calling off the eight-month old strike in the coming days.

  • ASUU Strike: End in sight as union meets with Gbajabiamila and House leadership

    ASUU Strike: End in sight as union meets with Gbajabiamila and House leadership

    …Industrial action end in a matter of days

    The ongoing industrial dispute between the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) and the Federal government could be over in a couple of days, Speaker of the House of Representatives, Rep. Femi Gbajabiamila said Monday evening.

    He also disclosed that the leadership of the striking lecturers is set to sign an agreement to end the dispute based on the recommendations by the House that were presented to President Mohammadu Buhari by the House Leadership.

    The Speaker also revealed that having received the House recommendations on the issue, President Buhari would on Tuesday, make a pronouncement towards the final resolution of the issue.

    Having assured the leadership of the striking workers at the last meeting with the House leadership and other stakeholders that they (ASUU) would be invited for feedback from the meeting with Mr. President, Gbajabiamila expressed delight that the President’s disposition to the House’s intervention was positive.

    He said: “I have visited the President twice. We spoke with Mr. President. There was one of the sticking points, the issue of no work no pay, the President did ask to digest the recommendations and would have one more meeting, which we did on Friday after the budget presentation.

    “That meeting was even better than the first one we had with him and Mr. President has agreed to certain things but I’m not going to talk about that now.

    “He would disclose whatever it is tomorrow (Tuesday) on that one remaining issue.

    “But beyond that, the other issues have been taken care of. We were able to make sure that what ASUU was asking for in terms of the Revitalization Fund, in terms of salary, there has been significant improvement.

    “Revitalization has been provided for in the budget, we made sure of that. The salary structure has been looked at, and there’s been an improvement as well and we made sure of that.

    “The issue of UTAS is another important issue, both ASUU and the Office of the Accountant General and the government have agreed that they would work together to resolve the peculiarities of UTAS required for the payment plan and IPPIS. They will sit down together, and the Chairman of the House Committee on Tertiary Education will also be part of that tripartite sit-down arrangement to include all those things that are required by ASUU in the IPPIS platform.

    “So I believe we’ve covered ground, we’ve covered most of the thorny issues and what we have agreed with ASUU now is basically to put everything on paper and sign off.

    “I believe if we had met yesterday and the papers had been drawn up, I’m sure ASUU would have called off the strike today.

    “But we’ve only just met today.

    “As I have stated, hopefully in the next couple of days, of course, once ASUU gets back to its base as well, once that is agreed, I’m very hopeful and very excited about the possibility or probability that the strike will be called off in a matter of days”.

    Gbajabiamila appreciated the union leadership for allowing the House leadership to make an input towards a lasting solution to the crisis, noting that short notices for meetings as well as public holidays were not enough to stop the union leaders from honouring invitations to meetings.

    In his response, ASUU President, Prof. Emmanuel Sodeke, who led other members of the union to the meeting, corroborated the views expressed by the Speaker over the signing of the agreement to end the strike.

    He said: “My union operates bottom-up. We don’t take decisions without their consent. So we have agreed that between now and tomorrow.

    “We are going to get some documentation signed so that we can take them to our members, and we will do that as quickly as possible in the interest of Nigerians and the students so that this can be resolved as soon as possible.

    “From what we have seen today, I think for the first time since our actions started, we are seeing the light at the end of the tunnel”.

    While appreciating the efforts of the Speaker and the House towards the resolution of the dispute, Osodeke, however, expressed optimism that the end of the strike is in sight.

    Saying that the interest of the children who have been at home for so long is paramount, Osodeke noted that the union believed that the intervention of the House is genuine and could be trusted.

  • Gbajabiamila confident of Buhari’s impending resolution of ASUU Strike

    Gbajabiamila confident of Buhari’s impending resolution of ASUU Strike

    The Speaker of the House of Representatives, Rep. Femi Gbajabiamila has expressed his confidence regarding the resolution of the ongoing industrial dispute between the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) and the Federal government. 

    Gbajabiamila, who spoke on Friday at the State House after a follow-up meeting between the leadership of the House and the President, disclosed that the outcome of the meeting would soon be made known by the President.

    Recall that the leadership of the House had on Tuesday presented a report containing recommendations following meetings with stakeholders in the ongoing ASUU-FG face-off to the President after which a follow-up meeting was scheduled for Thursday.

    Noting that the end of the crisis might soon be in sight, Gbajabiamila said the meeting was positive as pending issues would be concluded.

    He said: “We just came here for a follow-up, which was supposed to be yesterday but unfortunately the President was not around and this is a follow-up. 

    “We had, once again very very fruitful discussions with Mr President on the pending issues and this matter would be concluded. You will hear directly from the President, but suffice it to say that we had a very good meeting.

    “The assurance is that we’ve met with the President, we’ve discussed, it was a positive meeting and even the leader here is saying it was very very positive and it shall be well”.

    Not willing to let the cat out of the bag after being prodded further on the outcome of the meeting, the Speaker urged Nigerians to be patient for the President to make his pronouncements over the issues based on the new facts before him.

     “I think Nigerians will hear directly from Mr President, we all look forward to it; we had a good meeting, you can read between the lines”, Gbajabiamila added.

  • Strike: Appeal Court Orders ASUU To Call Off Strike Immediately

    Strike: Appeal Court Orders ASUU To Call Off Strike Immediately

    The Court of Appeal, Abuja, has ordered members of the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) to resume work with immediate effect.

    The appellate court gave the order in a ruling on an application by the ASUU seeking permission for it to appeal against the order of the National Industrial Court which asked the striking lecturers to resume duty.

    The Court also granted ASUU “conditional leave to appeal the order of the Industrial Court, while insisting that ASUU must obey the order of the lower court with effect from today, October 7.

    The 3-man panel led by Justice Hamman Barka, said for ASUU to file it’s notice of appeal within 7 days, it must show evidence that it’s members have resumed work immediately.

    The panel held that failure to adhere to the order, will make the appeal incompetent before Court of Appeal.

  • Ngige has turned ASUU strike to personal quarrel – Jega

    Ngige has turned ASUU strike to personal quarrel – Jega

    Attahiru Jega, former chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), has accused Chris Ngige, minister of labour and employment, of taking the industrial action by the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) personal and turning it into a private dispute.

    Jega in an interview on Arise TV, alleged that Ngige is having a personal quarrel with the minister of education and the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU).

    He also faulted the Minister for registering two breakout factions of ASUU and also trying to proscribe ASUU.

    Jega said;

    “Unfortunately, right now, the minister of labour is not helping matters. He has turned this into a personal quarrel between him and the minister of education on one hand and between himself and the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) on the other.

    “While many other people are trying to find a way of addressing this situation so that students can go back to school and ASUU can go back to work, he is busy creating challenges.

    “He now took the matter to the industrial court, now today, he now registered two unions and he is trying to proscribe ASUU.

    “If this is allowed by this government, I think this is a recipe for disaster and it may really create more problems than it can solve on this matter of strike in the universities.”