The Academic Union of Universities, ASUU, has announced September 10, 2024, as Victimized Lecturers’ Day. This will be a day set aside to ‘notify’ the world about the unending managerial crises and the continuous travails of lecturers in public Universities in Nigeria.
Professor Emmanuel Osodeke, the National President of ASUU had made this disclosure on Wednesday at Michael Okpara University of Agriculture, Umudike, during a press briefing with journalists over the outcome of the National Executive Council, (NEC) meeting of ASUU held in Ibadan, Oyo State.
Osodeke, who was circled by ASUU members during the press briefing had said that several lecturers in different Nigerian Universities either had their appointments terminated, salaries withheld or their promotions denied by the managements of several public institutions for trying to protect the welfare of academic staff.
The Universities according to the Osodeke, were Kogi State University, Ebonyi State University, EBSU, Lagos State University, LASU, Ambrose Alli University, Federal University of Technology Owerri, FUTO, Chukwuemeka Odumegwu Ojukwu University, Igbariam among others.
The Academic union had while expressing displeasure over the continuous victimisation of its members in Federal University of Technology, (FUTO), Owerri for rejecting the conferment of Professorship title on former Minister of Communication and Digital Technology, Isah Pantami, clamoured for a permanent end to the brutal treatment by the management of FUTO.
Owing to this issue and other outstanding ones, the Academic Staff Union of Universities restated its call on the Federal government to review and sign the renegotiated 2009 FGN-ASUU agreement, payment of outstanding earned academic allowances, release of withheld salaries, promotion arrears, and to terminate third-party deductions of the funds of ASUU members.
The other issues the lecturers want solved include the stoppage of illegal retirements, the proliferation of Public Universities, and the exploit of Universities’ laws.
They had also clamoured for the removal of Universities from the Single Treasury Account (TSA) and the new Integrated Personnel Payroll Information System, (IPPIS).
Finally, ASUU vowed to take appropriate decisions at the expiration of the 21-day ultimatum it had given the Federal government to address all the outstanding issues it raised.
