Voice Air Media, VAM News Update

THE Academic Staff Union of Universities, has declared that its members are on the verge of embarking on a total strike over the failure of the federal government to honour agreements reached with the union.

The union also cited as reason for the impending strike, the insistence of some subversive individuals reaping off the government through the Integrated Personnel Payment Information System, IPPIS, to disregard the directive of the Federal Executive Council, FEC, to remove ASUU from the payment platform.

While addressing the media Friday in Makurdi, Benue State, the Chairman of ASUU-Nsukka Zone, Comrade Raphael Amokaha reading from a text titled “Averting a Crisis” emphasised that those determined to undermine the directive of FEC had gone ahead to introduced Government Integrated Financial Management System, GIFMIS, instead of embracing the homegrown University Transparency Accountability Solutions, UTAS, offered free to the government.

“it can be inferred from observations that the people that are benefitting from IPPIS are not ready to let go of the federal universities for their pecuniary benefits hence the transformation from IPPIS to new IPPIS and now GIFMIS. We urge the government to immediately fish out those behind this recalcitrant rent seeking and bring them to book,” he said.

The union also lamented the failure of the government to release the balance of the eight months withheld salaries of ASUU members likewise the non-payment of Earned Academic Allowances, EAA, and other emoluments and entitlements to its members.

Acknowledging the reconstitution of the Governing Councils of Universities by the Federal Government, the Union frowned at the illegal dissolution of some of the Councils that were yet to complete their tenure saying “the failure to reinstate these councils has added to the list of contentious issues.”

ASUU also wondered why the government had failed to honour its agreements with the union citing “the 2009 Agreement the government entered with the union through collective bargaining which had been completely neglected by the government after setting up several negotiation teams to reach a middle ground.

“It is our sincere hope that the President Tinubu-led government will be different especially as he promised Nigerians in his acceptance speech that there will be no more strikes in our universities.

“We are on the verge of a strike now! Mr. President may, therefore, wish to ensure that the impending action is averted in keeping with his promise to the Nigerian people, by directing the immediate signing of the draft agreement and implementation of the of the contents therein.”

It, therefore, called for adequate funding for the both state and federal universities pointing out that “as far back as 1992, it has been the position of our union that both the federal and state governments should allocate at least 26 percent of their annual budget to education as prescribed by UNESCO.