By The Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) in Nigeria has issued a 21-day strike notice to the federal government, sources within the union’s National Executive Council confirmed on Monday.
The notice, decided at a meeting held at the University of Ibadan, is expected to be formally transmitted to the Federal Ministries of Labour and Education.
“It is not an ultimatum but a strike notice. We are giving them 21 days’ notice, after which we shall embark on strike,” a union source told The PUNCH newspaper. “Our aim for putting out the notice is that it is a requirement under labour laws so we are trying to ensure that all our actions are done according to the law.”
ASUU’s decision comes after repeated threats to strike over the non-implementation of agreements reached with the federal government. Key issues include:
1. Non-implementation of the 2009 re-negotiated agreements, which have lingered for over six years.
2. Unpaid academic allowances accumulated over six years.
3. Failure to fully implement the Needs Assessment Report, which agreed to raise 200 billion naira annually for five years for university revitalization. Only one payment has been made since 2013.
4. Concerns over the proliferation of new universities without adequate funding.
Prof. Emmanuel Osodeke, ASUU’s national president, highlighted these issues following a June 26 meeting with the Minister of Education, Prof. Tahir Mamman. Osodeke stated that the meeting’s agreements had not been implemented.
“At the meeting called by the Minister of Education, we agreed that after two weeks, we will meet to see the progress the government has made,” Osodeke said. “We will also see what we will do next if the government fail to implement the agreements reached.”
The union argues that the revitalization funds are crucial for upgrading Nigerian universities to international standards and attracting foreign students and lecturers.
This latest development follows a series of strikes by ASUU in recent years, including an eight-month strike in 2022 that significantly disrupted the academic calendar across Nigerian public universities.
The federal government has not yet publicly responded to ASUU’s strike notice. The situation continues to highlight the ongoing challenges in Nigeria’s higher education sector, including funding issues, infrastructure decay, and disputes over staff welfare.
As the 21-day notice period begins, stakeholders in Nigeria’s education sector are watching closely to see if a resolution can be reached to avert another potentially lengthy disruption to the country’s university system.
