Fresh Tension: FG Races Against Time To Stop Looming ASUU Strike, Union Fires Back

The Federal Government has rolled out fresh measures aimed at preventing a nationwide strike that could cripple academic activities across public universities.....KINDLY READ THE FULL STORY HERE▶

According to Daily Trust, top officials from the Ministries of Labour and Employment, as well as Education, are planning a crucial meeting with the leadership of the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU).

This development comes as ASUU’s August-end deadline to shut down universities over unresolved demands draws near. On Tuesday, the union held nationwide protests across campuses, disrupting lectures and signaling readiness to embark on strike if given the go-ahead by its national leadership.

Speaking to journalists on Wednesday night, the spokesperson for the Ministry of Education, Mrs. Folasade Biriowo, confirmed that a meeting was scheduled for Thursday in a bid to forestall the industrial action.

“The Federal Government is set to meet with ASUU leadership this morning (Thursday) at the ministry to determine the next steps and avert the strike,” Biriowo, who also serves as a director in the ministry, stated.

However, ASUU President, Prof. Chris Piwuna, insisted that the union had not received any formal invitation from the government.

“As of now, we’ve not been invited to any official meeting. Of course, if they invite us, we will attend. But no official communication has reached us,” Piwuna told Daily Trust.

Key issues fueling the crisis include the non-signing of the renegotiated 2009 agreement, unpaid three-and-a-half months’ withheld salaries, non-payment of promotion arrears, and the failure to release revitalization funds for universities.

Other grievances raised by the union include the non-remittance of third-party deductions, the controversial renaming of the University of Maiduguri after late President Muhammadu Buhari, and what ASUU describes as a “national embarrassment”—the ₦150,000 monthly retirement benefit for professors.