FG’s forlorn attempt at resolving five-month-old ASUU strike forces another four-week rollover

Following Federal Government officials’ failure to resolve the lingering ASUU crisis within two weeks as directed by President Muhammadu Buhari, the university teachers have again rolled over the five-month-old strike by four weeks.

The Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) President, Prof. Emmanuel Osodeke, announced this in a statement on Monday, saying the decision to extend the strike was reached at its National Executive Council (NEC) meeting.

Persecondnews recalls that Buhari had in July directed the Minister of Education, Malam Adamu Adamu in consultation with other government officials to resolve the lingering crisis and report to him within two weeks.

The two weeks expired last week without a statement by the Minister or any official of government.

ASUU had in February 2022 embarked on strike with the shutting down of the nation’s public universities over issues of poor welfare condition, failure to renegotiate earlier agreements signed and the alleged imposition of payment platform– IPPIS — by the government.

Osodeke said following extensive deliberations and taking cognizance of government’s past failures to abide by its own timelines in addressing issues raised in the 2020 FGN/ASUU Memorandum of Action (MOA), NEC resolved that the strike be rolled over for four weeks.

“The extension is to give government more time to satisfactorily resolve all the outstanding issues. The role-over strike is with effect from 12.01a.m. on Monday, 1st August, 2022.

According to Osodeke, NEC recalled that government’s failure to conclude the process of renegotiating the 2009 FGN/ASUU Agreement, deploy the University Transparency and Accountability Solution (UTAS), pay outstanding arrears of Earned Academic Allowances (EAA), release agreed sum of money for the revitalization of public universities (Federal and States), address proliferation and governance issues in State Universities, settle promotion arrears, release withheld salaries of academics, and pay outstanding third-party deductions, led to the initial declaration of the roll-over strike on 14th February, 2022.

“NEC views with seriousness the recent directive given by President Muhammadu Buhari to all Federal Universities that the Minister of Education, in consultation with other government officials, should resolve the lingering crisis and report to him within two weeks.

Osodeke expressed disappointment why it took government five full months to come to the realization of the need for an honest engagement with the union.