The Academic Staff Union of Universities has said the Nigerian government is inflicting hardship and misery on lecturers and students.
ASUU expressed frustration over the government’s failure to honour agreements made with the union stating that the Nigerian government is inflicting hardship and misery on lecturers and students.
During a press conference at the University of Lagos on Friday, Prof. Adelaja Odukoya, the Lagos Zonal Coordinator of ASUU, emphasized the need to update Nigerians on developments that had transpired after the suspension of the last nationwide strike on Friday, October 14, 2022, the union’s interactions with the current administration, and the possible consequences of the lack of notable actions on the part of the authorities.
Odukoya stated, “We are drawing attention to the government’s consistent disregard for agreements and the well-being of patriotic scholars in the Nigerian public universities.
“The government has persisted in inflicting hardship and misery on lecturers and students in Nigeria, despite their sincere efforts to elevate our public universities to a global standard.
“ASUU is unfazed in its patriotic endeavours. To reposition the Nigerian university system, we call on other patriots in the media, labour movement, student organisations, and civil society organisations to join ASUU in the rejection of the government’s master-slave posture on labour matters.”
Odukoya maintained that despite promises made before assuming office, the Bola Tinubu administration has not fulfilled expectations regarding the issues that prompted the union’s recent strike actions, the most recent being from February to October 2022.
Odukoya underscored several unresolved issues, including the renegotiation of the FGN/ASUU 2009 Agreement, withheld salaries of lecturers, unpaid arrears of Earned Academic Allowance, removal from the Integrated Personnel and Payroll Information System, public universities’ exclusion from the Treasury Single Account, and the proliferation of universities.
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Speaking on TETFUND and foreign partnerships, Odukoya said, “As if the abuse and violation of TETFUND by the government are not enough, our union has further noted reports in the media, not refuted, of TETFUND’s intention to help Kings College, London, establish a medical school in Nigeria in the name of partnership.
“We urge the leadership of the Fund to provide further updates on this proposed course of action and allay fears that it is contemplating funds meant for the development of Nigerian institutions for the development of foreign ones. We believe very strongly that there are many areas in which the agency can strengthen its interventions to the benefit of Nigerian universities.”
