The Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) has issued a 14-day ultimatum to the federal government over unresolved issues affecting the university system.
The decision followed a meeting of the union’s National Executive Council (NEC) held on Sunday at the University of Abuja.
ASUU president, Prof. Chris Piwuna, who signed a statement after the meeting, said the union was alarmed by the government’s neglect of public universities and its failure to implement past agreements.
“Accordingly, ASUU has given the Federal Government of Nigeria an ultimatum of fourteen (14) days within which to address these issues. If at the end of the ultimatum the government fails to act, the union may have no option but to, first, embark on a two-week warning strike and thereafter, a total and indefinite strike,” Prof. Piwuna said as quoted by Punch.
ASUU’s long-standing demands include the renegotiation of the 2009 agreement, revitalisation funding for universities, settlement of salary arrears, and sustainable financing for the tertiary education sector.
The government had earlier set up a committee led by Abel Enitan, permanent secretary of the Ministry of Education, to review the union’s proposals. But no recommendations have yet been made public.
The union said it would “hold government fully responsible for any disruption” to academic activities if its demands continue to be ignored.
