The Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) Calabar Zone has said it has given an additional 14-day window to the Federal Government to address its concerns about their welfare.
This is coming after ASUU had on August 20, 2024, issued a 21-day ultimatum to the FG for the resolution of all the issues in contention since 2009 but the Federal Government had however, never acceded to the demands of the academic union within the given period.
While speaking during a press conference in Uyo, Akwa Ibom State capital, on Monday, the Zonal (Calabar Zone) Coordinator of ASUU, Happiness Uduk, an Associate Professor, explained that nothing meaningful has been done by the FG within the 21-day ultimatum, with the exception for frivolous meetings “in which government agents were more concerned with receiving allowances from taxpayers’ money.”
ASUU always said that after the expiration of the 14-day window, it would be left with no option but to urge its members to proceed to industrial action, encouraging the public to hold the government accountable if such occurs.
Prof Uduk, had however, highlighted the 10 issues in contention, which include the renegotiation of the 2009 ASUU/FGN agreement; the release of withheld salaries from the 2022 strike; the release of unpaid salaries for staff on sabbatical, part-time, and adjunct; and the release of outstanding third-party deductions such as check-off dues and cooperative contributions by members, which were captured in the 2023 Federal budget; payment of Earned Academic Allowances; and the implementation of the University Transparency and Accountability Solution (UTAS) to replace the controversial Integrated Payroll and Personnel Information System (IPPIS).
Other issues include addressing the proliferation of universities without adequate funding; implementation of the Report of Visitation Panels to universities; and funding for the revitalization of public universities, partly captured in the 2023 Federal Government budget.
