FG summons ASUU to emergency meeting over threat for strike

The Federal government has Summoned the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) to an emergency meeting following the threat to embark on another strike.

The emergency meeting at the instance of the Minister of Education, Malam Adamu Adamu, is to hold tomorrow, the 6th of April 2021 at 11:00 am in the Ministry’s Headquarters in Abuja.

Director, Press and Public Relations, Federal Ministry of Education, Mr Ben Bem Goong, in a statement conveying this, on Monday, in Abuja, quoted the Minister as saying that the meeting was intended to nip the strike in the bud.

Recall that ASUU has issued a notice of strike over what the union has described as the refusal of the government to implement some of the agreements entered into between the union and the Federal government.

ASUU had suspended its about 10-month-old strike in January this year with the hope that the Federal government will meet all its demands.

The Chairman of ASUU, University of Ibadan, Prof. Ayo Akinwole, had also accused the Federal government of failure to remit the deductions it made to the account of the Union.

He had also warned that if pushed to the limit, “withdrawal of work in the nearest future may be inevitable.”

Akinwole said while the government was paying outstanding five months salaries for those on the nominal role at an agonisingly slow pace, over 100 UI academic staff members were being owed salaries for between three to 10 months

He said, “The suspension of the strike was based on an agreement reached and a ‘Memorandum of Action’ signed in good faith between the government and ASUU at the stakeholders’ meeting held on Tuesday, 22nd December 2020.

“A major common position agreed to (and expected to be respected) by the government and ASUU was that nobody shall be victimised in any way whatsoever for his/her role in the process leading to the Memorandum of Action.”

According to him, while ASUU had remained faithful to the agreement by returning to classes and performing their respective duties, the Federal Government reneged on its part.