Nigerian Universities May Close Again Soon, ASUU Warns
The Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) has vowed that it members nationwide may go on strike soon if the federal and state governments fail to redeem their promises bordering on the welfare of lecturers and re-positioning public universities to meet international standards.
Addressing journalists yesterday in Bauchi, the ASUU zonal coordinator Professor Nanmwa Voncir, who stated this, lamented that governments had abdicated their responsibilities of funding higher education, pointing out that all projects being carried out on campuses are interventions by TETFUND and NEEDS Assessment which replaced the normal budgetary allocations to higher institutions.
“You will recall that in November 2016, ASUU embarked on a one week warning strike to compel the federal government to implement the 2009 agreement. The senate of the federal republic of Nigeria intervened and the strike ended with undertaking by Federal Government of Nigeria to address all the contending issues,’’ he said.
According to him, instead of the federal government to fulfill the pledge by addressing the issues, ‘the situation has however gone from bad to worse decrying that by February 2017, academic staff in federal universities were paid fractions of their salaries just as the state governments ‘also pay salaries very irregularly’.
‘’ Herein lies the challenge. The Nigerian people should know and do what is right by requesting the federal government to do what is right otherwise we shall not be blamed for any unpleasant actions that the union may take should this ugly trend of paying fractions of salaries continue,’’ he threatened.