The Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) has expressed dissatisfaction with the Federal Government over response to its demands, forcing the union to declare a “comprehensive, total, and indefinite” strike.

The ASUU President, Prof. Emmanuel Osodeke, made this known via a statement issued at the end of the union National Executive Council (NEC) meeting in Abuja on Tuesday.

It would be recalled that the lecturers have been on strike since February 14 over alleged failure of government to keep to agreements entered with the unions.

The demands of the striking lecturers include issues bordering on funding of universities, salaries, and earned allowances of lecturers, among others.

Osodeke said the meeting was called to review developments since its last resolution that rolled over the nationwide strike action for another four weeks starting from August 1.

“In view of the foregoing, and following extensive deliberations on government’s response to the resolution of February 14, 2022, so far, NEC concluded that the demands of the union had not been satisfactorily addressed.

“Consequently, NEC resolved to transmute the roll-over strike to a comprehensive, total and indefinite strike action beginning from 12.01a.m. on Monday, August 29, 2022.

“NEC observed with regret that the union has experienced a lot of deceit of the highest level in the last five and half years as the Federal Government engaged ASUU in fruitless and unending negotiation without a display of utmost fidelity,” he stated.

Osodeke said ASUU and other well-meaning Nigerians had expressed serious disappointment and consternation on the attitude of the government conveyed by the Minister of Education, Adamu Adamu.

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He noted that none of the issues that forced the union to resume the suspended strike as listed in the December 2020 FGN-ASUU Memorandum of Action (MoA) has been satisfactorily addressed by the government to date.

“The draft renegotiated FGN-ASUU Agreement (second draft) remains unsigned; the University Transparency and Accountability Solution (UTAS) has not been adopted and deployed to replace the discredited Integrated Payroll and Personnel Information System (IPPIS).

“The White Papers on Visitation Panels to federal universities, if ready as claimed by government more than six months ago, are nowhere to be found,” he said.

Osodeke added that the Federal Government has not delivered on the promised balance of one tranche of the Revitalisation Fund more than one year after, noting that the outstanding two tranches of the Earned Academic Allowances (EAA) has not been released.

The ASUU President stated that nothing has since happened on the promised support for amendment to the Law of the National Universities Commission (NUC) to stem the tide of proliferation of universities, especially by the state governments.

He said: “NEC was utterly disappointed in agents of government, especially the Minister of Education, for the deliberate falsehood and misrepresentation of facts aimed at scoring cheap political gains.

“It is disheartening to imagine that a minister whose responsibility it is to resolve the crisis can overnight turn round to lead in this ignoble enterprise of distorting facts and misleading Nigerians.”

Osodeke added that ASUU would use all legitimate means at its disposal to protect and defend the interests of its members in public universities who might be victimised on the account of the ongoing strike.

The Star