The National Association of Nigerian Students (NANS) has urged the Federal Government to engage with the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) to address the looming strike threat.
The student body warns that a strike at this time would unleash catastrophic effects, severely impacting students and the educational system as a whole.
NANS Senate President, Akinteye Babatunde, made the appeal in an interview with newsmen in Abuja.
Akinteye said: “We are asking the Federal Government to meet with ASUU and discuss with them because an ASUU strike at this point in time is not advisable.”
Persecondnews recalls that ASUU issued a 14-day ultimatum to FG to resolve several lingering issues, including the conclusion of the renegotiation of the 2009 FGN/ASUU Agreement based on the Nimi Briggs Committee’s Draft Agreement of 2021.
The union is demanding the release of withheld salaries due to the 2022 strike action, unpaid salaries for staff on sabbatical, part-time, and adjunct appointments, and payment of outstanding third-party deductions, among other issues.
ASUU is further seeking funding for the revitalisation of public universities, partly captured in the 2023 Federal Government Budget, and the payment of Earned Academic Allowances partly captured in the 2023 Federal Government budget.
Other issues include the proliferation of universities by federal and state governments, the implementation of the reports of visitation panels to universities, the reversal of the illegal dissolution of governing councils, and the adoption of the University Transparency and Accountability Solution as a replacement for IPPIS.
ASUU President, Prof. Emmanuel Osodeke, expressed frustration with the government’s lack of commitment and delay tactics, stating that these actions were fuelling a crisis in the public university system.
He said: “In view of the foregoing, ASUU resolves to give the Nigerian Government another 14 days, in addition to the earlier 21 days, beginning from Monday, September 23, 2024, during which all the lingering issues must have been concretely addressed to the satisfaction of the membership of the union.
“The union should not be held responsible for any industrial disharmony that arises from the government’s failure to seize the new opportunity offered by ASUU to nip the looming crisis in the bud.”
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