ASUU threatens strike.

ASUU threatens strike.

The Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) yesterday in Kaduna accused the Federal Government and the National Assembly of reneging on the agreement it entered with the union two years ago.
The group said the inability of the government to fulfil its side of the agreement would spell doom for the nation’s universities and added that Nigerians should hold the government responsible for whatever happened.
Already, the university lecturers had directed all executives of the union in the various universities to call for congress in respect of the proposed strike. They added that the peace on campuses for the past two years would be truncated if the current National Assembly failed to enact relevant laws required for the smooth running of the university system in the country in line with the 2009 ASUU/Federal Government agreement.
Addressing journalists at the end of the its National Executive Council meeting at the Ahmadu Bello University (ABU), Zaria, the ASUU President, Ukachukwu Awuzie noted that members had waited in vain for over two years for the government to fulfill its own part of the agreement without success.
Mr Anwuzie said the major cause of crisis in the nation’s universities had always been the failure of government to implement valid agreements that it entered into with the union.
“Government has failed, refused and neglected to enact laws that will give effect to certain major areas of the agreement that need legislation for their implementation and enforcement,” he said. “Of particular concern is the 70-years retirement age for lecturers in the professorial cadre. The expectation was that this item in the agreement would be passed into law within a few months of the agreement. After close to two years of waiting in vain and seeing the consequences in the form of continued brain drain in the university system, ASUU members have become restive across the country.”
‘Don’t blame us’
While directing all branches of the union to immediately call their various congresses within the next three days to take necessary resolutions that their members had been calling for in the last months, Mr Awuzie maintained that even though the current National Assembly was winding up, they could still pass the bill on retirement age within one day.
“We learnt that the House of Representatives has passed the bill into law. But the Senate has not considered the bill. But we are aware that bills have been passed within a day in this country. What is required is very simple. Just for them to amend the law on retirement for academic staff in the Professorial cadre. But they have refused to take a look at the bill because they are not interested in solving the problem in the sector,” he said.
The ASUU President condemned the recent government decision to establish new federal universities across the country, saying that the excuse given by the federal government was not tenable.
He noted that government’s establishment of the new universities would not solve the problem of access to university education. He pointed out that ASUU was deeply committed to the expansion of university education in the country but that the process must be properly thought through and not just “political gimmick”.