AE-FUNAI lecturers threaten strike over unpaid salaries, unmet ASUU MoU

The Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) at Alex Ekwueme Federal University, Ndufu-Alike, has issued an ultimatum to the federal government to meet its demands before August 28 or risk a strike.

Louis Omenyi, the union’s branch chairman, spoke on Tuesday during a news conference at the university.

The professor said members of the union nationwide had become restive due to what he described as the government’s persistent failure to implement agreements reached with ASUU over the years.

“We state unequivocally that without urgent government intervention in these minimum demands of our union, industrial harmony can no longer be guaranteed,” Omenyi said.

Omenyi said the demands include the immediate signing and implementation of the draft renegotiated 2009 Agreement between the union and the Federal Government.

Other issues, he said, included the release of three months’ outstanding salaries to members and the payment of third-party deductions that had been withheld under the Integrated Payroll and Personnel Information System (IPPIS).

The union also demands the payment of promotion arrears, implementation of mainstreamed Earned Academic Allowances (EAA) in members’ salaries, and removal of threats to university autonomy and academic freedom.

Omenyi further demanded the immediate withdrawal of ASUU from being compelled to guarantee members for the student loan scheme under the Tertiary Institutions Students Support Fund (TISSF).

The union also called for an end to the alleged victimisation of its members in Prince Abubakar Audu University in Ayangba, Lagos State University, and the Federal University of Technology in Owerri (FUTO).

The ASUU leader also decried what he termed the government’s deliberate indifference to the plight of lecturers.

He said the union has exhausted all avenues of dialogue and consultation in the interest of peace and stability in the nation’s universities.

“We have been very patient and consistent in our engagements with government, but it appears that our genuine sacrifices are being taken for granted; enough is enough,” he said.

Omenyi said ASUU remained committed to quality education and the defence of university autonomy, but insisted that lecturers could not continue to work under poor conditions and deliberate neglect.

ASUU and the federal government have a long history of disagreements over university funding, lecturers’ welfare, and the implementation of agreements.

The non-implementation of these agreements has often led to several protracted strikes that crippled academic calendars across public universities.

In 2020, the union embarked on a nine-month strike, one of the longest in its history, over issues related to revitalisation of universities, salaries, and the IPPIS payroll software.

In 2022, there was another eight-month strike over similar demands, which forced the government to seek intervention from the judiciary before lecturers eventually returned to class.

In the heat of current demands, Chris Puwuna, ASUU president, said the union’s national executive council met on August 16 and 17.

He said ASUU resolved to give the government time to address its wants in a meeting planned for August 28.

He explained that the outcome of this August 28 meeting would determine the union’s next line of action.