More Woes For Students as ASUU Extends Strike

More Woes For Students as ASUU Extends Strike

The Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) has announced that its ongoing strike will continue for another 12 weeks.

THECONSCIENCENG reports that a statement signed by ASUU president, Prof. Emmanuel Osodeke, said this was to give the government enough time to satisfactorily resolve all the outstanding issues.

It also stated that the roll-over strike was effective from 12.01 am, May 9, 2021.

ASUU said it took this decision after its National Executive Council meeting which started on Sunday night at the Comrade Festus Iyayi National Secretariat, University of Abuja.

The statement read, “After extensive deliberations, noting Government’s failure to live up to its responsibilities and speedily address all the issues raised in the 2020 FGN/ASUU Memorandum of Action (MoA) within the additional eight-week roll–over strike period declared on 14th March 2022, NEC resolved that the strike be rolled over for twelve weeks to give Government more time to satisfactorily resolve all the outstanding issues.

“The roll-over strike action is with effect from 12.01 a.m. on Monday, 9th May 2022.”

The press release titled, ‘Update on ASUU roll-over strike,’ read, “The National Executive Council (NEC) of the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) held an emergency meeting on Sunday, 8th May 2022 at the Comrade Festus Iyayi National Secretariat, University of Abuja, Abuja.

Last Friday, it was reported that the Minister of Labour and Employment, Dr Chris Ngige, during a meeting with the striking National Association of Academic Technologists promised to meet with ASUU this week.

However, Osodeke told our correspondent, that the union had yet to receive any notice of meeting from any Federal Government ministry.

Some of ASUU’s demands include the release of revitalisation funds for universities, renegotiation of the 2009 FGN/ASUU agreement, release of earned allowances for university lecturers, and deployment of the UTAS payment platform for the payment of salaries and allowances of university lecturers.