The Academic Staff Union has claimed the Federal Government is yet to honour many of the agreements it signed with the body, hence, the body has threatened to resume the industrial action it suspended in December 2020.
This was made known by the chairman, ASUU, Abubakar Tafawa Balewa University, Bauchi, Dr. Ibrahim Inuwa to journalists at the union’s secretariat on Saturday.
It can be recalled that the strike was earlier suspended in December after the University Union and the Federal Government signed a Memorandum of Understanding on the various issues and demands raised by the Union for the continued survival of the public university system in Nigeria.
According to Inuwa, timelines were provided for the implementation of the eight items listed in the agreement. However, only two out of the eight issues raised has been addressed
He stated: “Only payment of salary shortfall and constitution of visitation panels to Federal universities have been addressed.
“Renegotiation of the 2009 agreement, which would have been completed within eight weeks from the date of inauguration of the committee, has up till now not been concluded even though the committee was inaugurated in December 2020.
“The Federal Government of Nigeria willingly agreed that the UTAS will replace the IPPIS as a payment platform in federal universities after it passed an integrity test. However, soon after the agreement, agents of the Federal Government were doing everything possible to frustrate the coming of UTAS onboard.
“Meanwhile, the Office of the Accountant General of the Federation, through the IPPIS office, has continued to omit our members from payment of salaries, while others experience serious salary amputation. We are convinced that this is done in connivance with the university administration through the distortion of our members’ personal details.”
Inuwa said the body is fed up with the deceptive antics of the Federal Government of Nigeria, as university campuses are becoming restive and are threatening to shut down academic activities once again.
He added that “enough is enough”, the FG should implement aspects of the agreement signed in December 2020, to avoid grounding of academic activities.
