Uniabuja Channel

The Federal Government has faulted the fresh notice by the Academic Staff Union of Universities to embark on a fresh strike barely four months after calling off a 10-month industrial action. The government said any person conceiving a strike after close to one year of downing tools would be doing a disservice to students “because government is a continuum.” The Minister of State for Education, Chukwuemeka Nwajiuba, who stated this in an interview with Sunday PUNCH, said it had been difficult for the government to run the lives of over 200 million people with less than $70m a day in earnings. He said, “Whoever is conceiving a strike after being on a strike for close to one year is damaging the studentship because government is a continuum. Even if we are not in power today, another government, as the case may be, will be there. Whoever is in power will continue to engage with any union. But that shouldn’t stop the country from functioning because the rest of the country are the ones you...

 The Academic Staff Union of Universities has threatened to resume its suspended strike over non-payment of salaries and alleged victimisation of members. The chairman, University of Ibadan branch of ASUU, Prof. Ayo Akinwole, in a statement on Sunday asked Nigerians to blame the Federal Government if universities are shut down again. Akinwole decried that despite agreeing to ASUU’s condition before the strike was suspended on December 24, 2020, many lecturers are still being owed salaries of between two and 10 months ASUU had called off its nine-month strike after the FG agreed to its conditions. However, within two weeks of the conditional suspension of the nine-month strike embarked upon by ASUU, the Federal Government reportedly flouted the agreements. It was learnt that as of December 31, 2020, the Federal Government had failed to fulfil three agreements reached with the union. Among the agreements, FG failed to fulfil was the payment of the lecturers six months salaries, inclu...

Senior Staff Association of Nigeria Universities and the Non-Academic Staff Union of Educational and Associated Institutions have written their branches to commence strike from tomorrow (Friday). According to a copy of the notice obtained by PUNCH on Thursday, the industrial action will take effect pending any contrary resolution by the branches. Part of the notice read, “In view of the outcome of the meeting, the leadership of JAC of NASU and SSANU at the branches are hereby directed to commence joint general meetings on Friday to give reports on the outcome of the conciliation meeting and pass resolutions on the way forward. “In the meantime, the nationwide strike takes effect from 12 midnight, Friday, February 5, 2021, pending any contrary resolution by the branches.”

THE meeting between the Federal Government team and the non-teaching staff in the universities under the umbrella of Joint Action Committee, JAC, ended Tuesday without any resolution of the contentious issues. Recall that JAC comprising the Non-Academic Staff Union of Educational and Associated Institutions, NASU and the Senior Staff Association of Nigeria Universities, SSANU had threatened to shut down the universities starting from February 5 if the government failed to address some of the concerns they raised. Among the concerns include the issue of the Integrated Payroll and Personnel Information System, IPPIS, which the unions complained that they were having problems with since they migrated into the platform, the non-payment of arrears of minimum wage since April last year, the disparity in the sharing of the N40 billion Earned Allowances in which the Academic Staff Union of Universities, ASUU was allocated 75 per cent of the total sum leaving 25 per cent for three unions and th...

The Federal Government is currently meeting with the Joint Action Committee comprising the Senior Staff Association of Nigeria Universities and the Non-Academic Staff Union of Educational and Associated Institutions. Report shows that the meeting is holding at the Federal Ministry of Labour and Employment, Abuja. Among those present in the meeting are the Minister of Labour and Employment, Senator Chris Ngige; SSANU National President, Mohammed Ibrahim; and NASU General Secretary, Peters Adeyemi. The non-teaching staff in the universities had announced that they would embark on a nationwide strike from February 5, 2021 over the Federal Government’s handling of the Integrated Personnel and Payroll Information System, sharing formula of the N40 billion earned academic allowances and non-payment of arrears of the new minimum wage. Others are the non-payment of retirement benefits to former members, non-constitution of visitation panels to universities, poor funding of universities, teachi...

The Management of the University of Abuja has appealed to all law-abiding students to not partake in disrupting the 2019/2020 Academic Calendar, considering the amount of time lost to the strike by the Academic Staff Union of Universities, ASUU, and COVID-19 pandemic. The institution said it was putting all necessary measures in place to address issues raised by its students regarding their academic programmes. The school’s appeal came on the heels of protest by its students on Monday over alleged injustice to them by its authorities. The students had barricaded the entrance to the university’s permanent site, demanding the opening of the school’s portal, review of the school’s fees as well as allowing students to pay their fees without the imposition of the deadline Oladeji Adebolawale, President, Students Union Government, SUG, of the institution, who led the protest explained that “We are here this morning to show our displeasure through a peaceful protest with no violence. For the ...