FG insincerity igniting fresh round of industrial crisis — ASUU

The Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU), Port Harcourt zone, has warned of another prolonged industrial crisis in the Nigerian education sector owing to the Federal Gov­ernment’s deliberate refusal to address lingering demands.

The union said the govern­ment instead of addressing the lingering issues for the benefit of the public tertiary education in the country, had rather resorted to the same modus operandi of nonchalance and lack of sincer­ity towards the resolution of the contending issues, reports Daily Independent.

A statement signed by the Port Harcourt Zonal Coordinator of ASUU, Stanley Ogoun, yesterday, said it was disheartening to note that the Nigerian public uni­versity system was still being held at the jugular by both the federal and state governments through their deliberate neglect.

Ogoun added that the union should not be held responsible should there be any industrial disharmony arising from the gov­ernment’s failure to seize the op­portunities offered by the union to nip the looming crisis in the bud.

ASUU’s Port Harcourt Zonal Coordinator stated that the cur­rent administration was exhibit­ing anti-public university antics similar to the behaviour exhibited by the immediate past administra­tion of President Muhammadu Buhari.

Ogoun said, “Following gov­ernment’s failure to respond, the union has given another 14 days, in addition to the earlier 21 days, beginning from Monday, 23rd September 2024, during which all the lingering issues must be addressed.

“However, typical of the Ni­gerian state’s attitude towards addressing issues of public inter­est, the government has resorted to the same modus operandi of nonchalance and lack of sincerity towards the peaceful resolution of the contending issues.

“Recall that this same an­ti-public university mindset be­ing demonstrated by the present government was also exhibited by the immediate past adminis­tration of President Muhamma­du Buhari with the former igno­ble and dishonourable minister of labour and his accomplices acting as willing tools for the dec­imation of the public university system.

“It is disheartening to note that the Nigerian public university system is still being held in the jugular by both the federal and state tiers of government through deliberate neglect”.

ASUU further expressed re­grets that public officials who were supposed to be ambassa­dors of public universities in the country, were sending their wards abroad for higher learning.

The union highlighted that the lingering unresolved issues include the renegotiation of the 2009 FGN/ASUU Agreement based on the 2022 Nimi Briggs Committee’s Draft Agreement and the implementation of the renegotiated agreement; funding for the revitalisation of public uni­versities, among others.

“While the universities are gasping for breath to survive, the wards of the ruling class are sent to the best of schools abroad using stolen public funds.

“For the umpteenth time, the issues in contention include: con­clusion of the renegotiation of the 2009 FGN/ASUU Agreement based on the 2022 Nimi Briggs Committee’s Draft Agreement and the implementation of the renegotiated agreement; funding for the revitalisation of public universities, partly captured in the 2023 Federal Government’s budget; adoption of the University Transparency and Accountability Solution (UTAS) as a replacement for the Integrated Payroll and Personnel information System (IPPIS).

“Amendment of the NUC Act to stop the proliferation of universities by federal and state governments; release of unpaid salaries for staff on sabbatical, part-time, and adjunct appoint­ments affected by the IPPIS; pay­ment of Earned Academic Allow­ances (EAA), partly captured in the 2023 Federal Government’s budget; withheld three-and-a-half months’ salaries due to the 2022 strike action; outstanding third-party deductions such as check-off dues and cooperative contributions; implementation of the reports of visitation panels to universities; and illegal dissolu­tion of governing councils.”