ASUU alerts Nigerian govt on strike, insists on 2009 agreement

The Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU), Bauchi Zone, on Tuesday decried the poor attitude of the Federal Government towards the implementation of the 2009 agreement signed by both parties.

The ASUU Coordinator in the zone, Prof. Lawan Abubakar, who addressed journalists at a press conference in Jos, Plateau State, said such a lackadaisical attitude by the government would force the union members to embark on an indefinite strike.

The union had on November 14, issued a three-week ultimatum to the government to implement the agreement or risk another indefinite strike by the varsity teachers.

Abubakar, who was represented at the forum by his predecessor, Prof. Nanmwa Voncir, said the agreement was renegotiated in May 2020, yet the government has remained adamant about its implementation.

He advised the federal government to implement the agreement to avert another strike.

Abubakar added that the union’s demands were not personal, but aimed at lifting the standard of university education in the country.

READ ALSO: Nigerian govt claims agreements with ASUU were signed under duress

The coordinator said: “The Bauchi zone of ASUU feels that the government has been tolerated enough and we cannot continue to entertain its officials who are failing to do the needful for over the years.

“Impending strike action can be avoided if government officials can do what they failed to do in the last one year.

“We are, once again, pained to bring these issues to the public domain because more than a year after suspending the 2020 strike, little progress has been made towards implementation.

“We are also pained to inform the public that ASUU has activated its process of resuming the conditionally suspended strike immediately after the expiration of the three-week ultimatum.

“Should we embark on strike, know that we are forced and government should be held responsible and accountable.”

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