ASUU issues 21-day strike notice to Federal Government

The Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) has notified the Federal Government of its intention to go on a nationwide strike by issuing a 21-day notice.

Sources within ASUU’s National Executive Council confirmed the development to our correspondent in Abuja on Monday.

The notice was issued following a NEC meeting held at the University of Ibadan. A copy of the notice is expected to be sent to the Federal Ministries of Labour and Education.

“This is not an ultimatum but a strike notice. We are giving them 21 days’ notice, after which we will commence the strike,” the source said.

“Our goal in issuing this notice is to comply with labor laws and ensure that all our actions are legally sound,” the source added.

It should be recalled that ASUU had threatened to go on strike over the non-implementation of agreements reached with the federal government.

On June 26, the Minister of Education, Prof. Tahir Mamman, invited the union to a meeting to discuss the ongoing issues affecting universities and to prevent the planned strike.

The National President of ASUU, Prof. Emmanuel Osodeke, who spoke on the outcome of the meeting, said that the agreements reached with the Federal Government had not been implemented.

“At the meeting called by the Minister of Education, we agreed to reconvene in two weeks to assess the progress the government has made.”

“We will also determine our next steps if the government fails to implement the agreements reached.”

The ASUU president noted that some of the demands included the non-implementation of the 2009 renegotiated agreements.

He said these agreements had been pending for over six years, with no action from the government.

Osodeke also highlighted that academic allowances due to their members had accumulated over the same period, with no resolution in sight.

Regarding the revitalization fund, he mentioned that they had agreed on the Needs Assessment Report, which proposed raising ₦200 billion annually for five years.

“Since 2013, only one payment has been made. We need revitalization funds to upgrade our universities to a standard where we can attract students and lecturers from abroad,” he said.

Osodeke added that the government had yet to address the proliferation of universities, noting that many new institutions were being approved without the necessary funding to operate them.

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