Academic Staff Union Of Universities (ASUU), Abuja Zone, says it’s patriotic agitations and actions over the years is premised on six cardinal demands.
Prof. Theophilus Lagi, Abuja Zonal Coordinator, made this known during a press conference in Gwagwalada on Thursday.
The Abuja zone comprises University of Abuja, Federal University of Lafia, Federal University of Technology Minna, Ibrahim Badamasi Babangida University, and Nasarawa State University Keffi.
Lagi said the union’s six demands include, Fund for Revitalization of public universities (Federal and States), renegotiation of the 2009 FGN / ASUU Agreement, payment of outstanding Earned, Academic Allowances.
Others are, proliferation of Universities by the State governments, the constitution of Visitation Panel to Federal Universities and the planned forceful imposition of IPPIS on universities with failure of FGN to pay February 2020 salaries.
“These issues had been agreed upon by FGN and ASUU via several memoranda which aggregated the cardinal arguments of the previous 2013 (MoU), 2017 (MoA) and the 7th February, 2019 (MoA).
“Unfortunately, these noble initiatives proposed by our great union and accepted by the FGN for the uplift of Nigeria education have remained contentious of our union’s engagement with the government.
“ASUU also wants FGN to declare a five-year State of Emergency in the education sector during which at least 26% of FGN budget and same percentage of States’ budgets should be allocated to education,” Lagi said.
He said the current action is also a call on the FGN to welcome ASUU’s ongoing innovative alternative to IPPIS called Universities Transparency and Accountability Solution (UTAS) which will address the peculiarities of universities.
However, he, called on parents, students and well meaning Nigerians to understand that ASUU’s warning strike is to salvage the already decayed university system and the future of Nigerian children.
“The derailment by government from the principles of those interventions has led to the current deficiency and decay we see on our campuses.
“This is compounded by the unnecessary meddlesomeness in the internal administrative procedures and processes of our universities by the government and its agents such as AGF and the Minister of Finance.
“We want the nation to understand that our opposition to the implementation of IPPIS in our Universities is a patriotic action because the scheme is a bastion of fraud that permits the enrolment of ghost workers.
“We in the Abuja Zone have resolved to prosecute this strike to its logical conclusion and that what we are doing is to salvage the already decayed university system and the future of our children,” he added.
The university lecturers had on March 9, embarked on a two weeks warning strike. (NAN)
