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Uniuyo ASUU Threatens Fresh Strike, Gives two weeks ultimatum to FG over 2009 renegotiated agreement 

Uniuyo ASUU Threatens Fresh Strike, Gives two weeks ultimatum to FG over 2009 renegotiated agreement 

 

Ekemini Simon 

 

The Academic Staff Union of Universities, ASUU, University of Uyo branch has threatened to embark on an indefinite industrial action if in two weeks time, the Federal Government fails to complete the 2009 renegotiated agreement it had with the union.

 

The threat is coming 28 months after the last eight months nationwide strike by ASUU in February 2022.

 

The University of Uyo branch of ASUU which made their warning known on Wednesday during a public sensitization protest at the University of Uyo town campus over what they described as failure by the Federal Government of Nigeria to keep to the 2009 agreement it renegotiated in 2022.

 

 

The Chairperson of ASUU, Prof. Opeyemi Olajide said that the union has reached out to relevant authorities to intervene and make the government keep to its part of the agreement to avert disruptions to academic activities yet positive response have been lacking.

 

The Chairperson noted that if after two weeks nothing was done, the union will be left with no option than to shut down the universities for the students to return home.

 

 

He said, “In year 2022, ASUU was on strike for eight months, public universities in Nigeria were shut down, students were sent home because federal government of Nigeria refused to address ASUU demands as contained in renegotiated 2009 agreement which Academic Staff Unions of Nigerian Universities had with them, ASUU suspended the strike because our union is very civil, law abiding and has respect for rule of law. ”

 

” Sadly, it is now two years after, yet the federal government has refused to sign that agreement with our union. We are telling the government and the public that if in the next two weeks nothing is done, ASUU is going to embark on yet another strike and students will be sent home.”

 

 

The Zonal Coordinator of ASUU, Calabar Zone, Dr.  Happiness Uduk while addressing the protest noted that the Federal government still owes lecturers in public schools three and half month’s salary.

Zonal Coordinator of ASUU, Calabar Zone, Dr. Happiness Uduk addressing the protest.

 

She explained that public universities are not functional as expected when compared with the private universities, thus calling the federal government to make deliberate efforts to resuscitate the public educational system.

 

 

According to her, “Enough is enough! The government is not taking care of public institutions yet they are establishing their own private universities where they are taking our resources to, where they are taking our taxpayers monies to.  Federal government has about two weeks to do something and if not, ASUU will down tools, that is what we want to tell people that it is not well with us”.

 

“The Federal Government has not treated us well and to say the least, we are very hungry, whatever we are getting is not taking us home. We are asking the government to pay us what they owe us. We are calling on the government to make the University system functional, we are asking the government to pay us our EAA, they should care for universities they brought and not to bring up more universities without taking care of them.”

 

 

Also speaking, the former Zonal Coordinator of ASUU, Prof. Aniekan Brown said the union over the years had been clamouring for “education for all” without it coming to reality.

 

 

He expressed dismay over the fact that the workload of lecturers is not commensurate with their pay and called for an increment of salary.

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Brown lamented that despite the meagre and static salaries given, the rate of taxation by the FG was becoming unbearable as a lecturer pays up to 90 percent of his/her salary as tax.

 

 

He said, “It’s quite sad that some lecturers have up to 48 credit loads per week, they teach on Saturdays, and yet their take home pay will not take them home. I want to say that it is not possible for one to work with an empty stomach. The last time something was added to our salaries was in 2009 and as a Christian, only one Being is the same yesterday, today and forever which is Almighty God. Yet, the Federal Government is compelling our salaries to compete with God and as a Christian I stand against that.

 

 

“The union is ready to ensure that the public university system gets back running. It is left for the government to do the needful. Students attend lectures in a room that was meant for fifty persons being occupied by 200 to 250 students with no public-address system. The lecturers will scream their hearts out to impact knowledge, yet politicians’ children are going to school abroad. You see them contributing money to already developed universities abroad and they will turn blind eyes here. We will rise as one people to compel them to start taking their responsibilities.

 

“Let me also note that our taxes are excruciating, a lecturer who is meant to receive N200,000 as salary will end up going home with N110, 000 as N90,000 will go in as tax. The sad thing is that these politicians make us pay heavy tax, evade taxes. They subject us to IPPIS yet they are not on IPPIS”.

 

 

Brown, who noted that the living condition of lecturers have deteriorated, pointed out that the condition can negatively affect how knowledge is impacted to students hence if the trend is allowed to continue will spell doom for Nigeria’s educational system.

 

 

Also speaking, Chairman, Academic Staff Union of Universities, Akwa Ibom State University Chapter, Dr Inyang Udosen said the union joined the protest in solidarity with the University of Uyo and other public universities pointing  out some challenges bedeviling the State University even as he called on Akwa Ibom  State government to increase their wages to meet the current economic realities.

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