NaijNaira
The Academic Staff Union of Universities in Abuja has renewed its demand for the release of three and a half months’ unpaid salaries, warning that failure to act could lead to another strike – www.naijnaira.com reports.
During a press briefing in Abuja, the Zonal Coordinator of ASUU, Prof. Al-Amin Abdullahi, stressed that the 2009 agreement with the Federal Government has been ignored for too long, according to Punch.
He stated, “There is a crisis affecting universities in Nigeria, and it is not just ASUU’s problem; it is a problem for the entire country.”
Abdullahi demanded the immediate release of withheld salaries, unpaid promotion arrears, and third-party deductions owed to cooperatives and the union.
He also called for the payment of one year’s arrears from the 25/35 per cent salary increment already promised to academics.
The union insisted on the adoption of UTAS as the payment system for universities, rejecting alternatives currently pushed by government.
According to Abdullahi, classrooms remain overcrowded, laboratories under-equipped, and student hostels largely unfit for habitation.
He lamented that poor funding has pushed Nigerian universities down global rankings and created an unconducive learning environment.
The ASUU leader added that UNESCO’s recommendation of allocating higher annual budgets to education should guide federal and state governments.
He revealed that while dialogue has prevented any nationwide strike in the last two years, unresolved issues remain from the 2009 FGN-ASUU Agreement.
That agreement, he said, covered revitalisation of public universities, university autonomy, and renegotiated conditions of service for academics.
Abdullahi stressed, “It is impossible for a nation to advance beyond the standard of its university system.”
The union warned that without urgent action, the neglect of tertiary education will continue to endanger Nigeria’s future generations.
