The Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) in Nigeria extended a six-month strike on Monday.
A source within ASUU confirmed that the resolution of the striking university lecturers’ National Executive Council (NEC) meeting was to extend the strike.
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He did not, however, say how long the union kept the strike going.
ASUU began its strike on February 14, 2022. It then issued a four-week warning strike. However, after a month, the lecturers extended it by eight weeks, claiming that the government needs more time to consider their demands.
Following the failure of the Federal Government and lecturers to reach an agreement, the union extended the strike by another 12 weeks on May 9.
ASUU stated that it wants better welfare, the revitalization of public universities, and academic autonomy, among other things.
Several meetings between government officials and ASUU have resulted in a stalemate. One such meeting was held about two weeks ago at the National University Commission (NUC) in Abuja with the Professor Nimi Briggs Committee.
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However, a senior ASUU member told Channels Television that the Briggs Renegotiation Committee failed to reach an agreement. According to the anonymous source, the committee pleaded with the union to end the strike and promised that their concerns would be addressed in next year’s budget.
Several groups and individuals have weighed in on the industrial dispute since it began. Human rights lawyer Femi Falana is the most recent to request that the Federal Government sign the renegotiated agreement with the striking workers.
“Instead of engaging in the diversionary tactics of blackmailing ASUU the Federal Government should ensure that the strike is called off by signing the Renegotiated Agreement with ASUU without any further delay,” Falana stated this in a statement issued on Sunday.
“While calling on both sides to resume the negotiations in the interest of the country the Federal Government should be prevailed upon to end the prolonged industrial action.”
Falana
ASUU president Emmanuel Osodeke announced two weeks ago that the union had reached an agreement with the government to use the University Transparency Accountability Solution (UTAS) as the lecturers’ payment platform and to end the strike.
“We have not had any serious communication though they have invited us for a meeting on one issue, tomorrow (Tuesday), which is the issue of renegotiation,” Osodeke said on Channels Television programme Politics Today.
“You know that there are seven issues why we are on strike. They are inviting for discussion on issue of renegotiation, tomorrow, which is renegotiation of the 2009 agreement.”
The agreement was not signed during the meeting, which ended in a stalemate.
