ASUU: Crises & Strikes In Varsities Not Over

Academic Staff Union of Universities has called on the FG
to resolve outstanding issues before suspension of its 10-
month strike, to guarantee peace in universities. The union
said government was indebted to many of its members in
different universities, with between 3 and 14 months
arrears owed.
ASUU President, Prof Emmanuel Osodeke, said these in
an interview with  news men. Asked what would
happen should government remain recalcitrant, he said he
would continue from where his predecessor, Prof Biodun
Ogunyemi, stopped.
“It is continuity, we run a collective leadership. So, it’s
continuity from where my immediate predecessor stopped.
It (the crisis) is not yet over. Government has the
opportunity to ensure that crises are over. It is just to
implement those things,” Osodeke said.
According to him, after developing the University
Transparency and Accountability Solution as an alternative
to the controversial Integrated Payroll and Personnel
Information System, ASUU members are “bleeding” while
people are being paid what pleases the office of the
Accountant General of the Federation.
Osodeke said, “You know we were on strike till late last
year. We reached an agreement on how to implement the
outstanding issue with the government. We will expect the
government to implement those issues with timelines.
“They have reneged on a number of them in line with the
timelines. But, we believe it is not late; they can still
resolve those issues for the peace and development of
our universities. They cut your salary today, they pay those
who they want to pay today, they withdraw those next
week; they expect those people to come to Abuja to come
and beg them or look for other things for them. So, these
cannot continue in a university system.
“As a union, we don’t love strike because we have our
children here. 99% of lecturers in Nigeria have their
children in Nigerian universities, unlike the politicians who
are actually destroying the system. How many of them
have their children in this country?”