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Tag: Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU)

  • Senate wades into crisis between ASUU, FG

    Senate wades into crisis between ASUU, FG

    Sen. Jibril Barau (APC-Kano), says the Senate has intervened in the crisis between the Federal Government and Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU).

    Barau made this known when he was briefing Senate correspondents after a closed door meeting with leadership of ASUU, Minister of State for Education and other stakeholders in Abuja on Wednesday.

    “After the deliberation, we set up a sub-committee that will meet with the Minister of Finance and the Minister of Budget and Planning to resolve the issues,” Barau said.

    The Senator, who is the chairman of the sub-committee, assured Nigerians that the parties involved had found a way forward as there was determination to get the issues resolved.

    Also, Sen. Mao Ohuabunwa (PDP-Abia), acting Chairman, Senate Committee on Labour said they had resolved to “nip the issue in the bud”.

    “With the attention of the minister of finance and that of budget and planning, by Monday next week, we should resolve amicably and the warning strike will come to an end,” Ohuabunwa said.

    Minister of State for Education, Prof. Tony Anwuka said that the initiative was commendable and was geared toward finding a lasting solution to the crisis.

    “We should be able to find pleasant resolutions,” Anwuka said.

    On his part, ASUU President, Biodun Ogunyemi thanked the Senate for intervening in the matter.

    The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) recalls that ASUU, earlier on Wednesday, embarked on a one-week warning strike. 

  • Hold FG responsible for strike, says ASUU

    Hold FG responsible for strike, says ASUU

    …Bayelsa varsity deserted

     

    The Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU), Wednesday, asked parents, students and other stakeholders to direct their grievances against the strike declared by the union to the Federal Government.

    Speaking through its chapter in the Bayelsa State-owned Niger Delta University (NDU), ASUU insisted that the industrial action was for the best interest of development of tertiary education in the country.

    Investigations revealed that NDU chapter of ASUU complied fully with the strike as lecturers’ deserted classrooms and their offices.

    Students were also seen leaving the campus with their luggage in droves following stoppage of all academic activities in the school.

    Addressing a press conference at the school’s auditorium, the NDU chapter Chairman of ASUU, Dr. Stanley Ogoun, said the union would resist any attempt by politicians, who had started the business of running private universities, to kill public institutions.

    He said the docility of stakeholders was the reason why state governments and politicians destroyed primary and secondary schools.

    Ogoun said: “We call on students, parents and the ordinary people of Nigeria to understand that our actions are geared towards resisting and frustrating the attempt by the ruling class to commercialize and privatize university education in Nigeria.

    “We will resist every attempt to kill the university system the way they killed primary and secondary schools. If we fail to stand on the side of truth, posterity will not forgive us.

    “Before now, we were receiving subventions to run the universities, but now they are withdrawing the subventions. Most state universities are almost grounded why political actors are floating private universities”, he said.

    He said the Federal Government jettisoned agreements it reached with the union adding that the 2009 agreement was to be reviewed every three years.

    Ogoun said: “The current state of the economy is manmade and the government of the day must live up to its responsibilities by initiating policy options that would move us out of our current economic state, except the government is bereft of ideas”.

    Explaining the series of strikes embarked upon by the union in 2009 and 2013, he lamented that most aspects of the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) it signed with the government had not been implemented.

    He said: “For the avoidance of doubt, this current action is compelled by failure of negotiations and several entreaties from our union since 2004 till date and the current trend in some states where staff salaries are sacrificed on the altar of other exigencies”.

    He listed the reasons behind the strike as non-release of funds for revitalization of public universities; non-release of subventions to state universities by the visitors and non-payment of staff salaries and  refusal to issue license for the registration of the Nigerian University Pension Management Company (NUPEMCO).

    Others according to him were refusal to pay Earned Academic Allowances (EAA); shortfall in salaries leading to payment of fractions of staff salaries; non-payment of salaries of staff in the staff primary schools and exemption of universities from the Treasury Single Account (TSA).

  • FG appeal to ASUU to shelve warning strike

    The Minister of Labour and Employment, Sen. Chris Ngige has appealed to the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) to rescind its decision to embark on a nationwide warning strike from Wednesday.

    The Minister said in a statement Tuesday night that the union should give the Buhari administration an opportunity to discuss all contending issues arising from the Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA) it reached with the past administration.

    The Minister however said that “the claims of nationwide consultations by ASUU cannot be true as the Ministry of Labour and Employment which is the chief conciliator of industrial relations disputes is yet to receive a direct petition from ASUU against the Federal Government who is the jurisdictional employer”.

    The statement signed by the Deputy Director Press, Federal Ministry of Labour and Employment, Samuel Olowokere emphasized the need for proper re-negotiation of  the Collective Bargaining Agreement which ASUU reached with the previous administrations through a clear channel of social dialogue, starting with its immediate employer, the Ministry of Education, and the Labour Ministry.

    It explained that in view of the prevailing circumstances, the issuance of warning strike by ASUU was unconstitutional as the body was yet to exhaust the conflict resolution mechanisms clearly mapped out in the labour laws.

    The Minister therefore appealed to ASUU to give the present administration the opportunity to fully address its grievances which stemmed from the inactions of the past administration.

  • Strike: UI ASUU suspends ongoing examinations

    Strike: UI ASUU suspends ongoing examinations

    The Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU), University of Ibadan chapter, says it will ensure total compliance with the directives by its national body to proceed on one- week warning strike.

    The union announced this on Tuesday at a congress held at the Faculty of Arts, presided over by its chairman, Dr Deji Omole,

    The union also resolved that the ongoing examinations at the Faculty of Education stand suspended till after the strike.

    The congress was attended by the Vice-Chancellor, Prof Idowu Olayinka and some Deans of Faculties.

    Omole said that letters of the strike have been sent to the Vice-Chancellor, Deans, Head of Departments and Director of Institutes to stop all academic meetings, lectures, examinations and ‎all board meetings.

    He said that it was in the spirit of accommodating Nigerians and letting them judge between the union and the government that the union decided to proceed on one-week warning strike‎.

    In a letter addressed to the Vice-Chancellor, ASUU UI stated that “We write to inform you that the strike will be total and comprehensive.

    “No teaching, no examination and no attendance at statutory meetings of any kind.

    “In line with the national directive of the union, our members will henceforth withdraw their services till the end of the warning strike,” the letter stated.

     

  • Senate moves to avert ASUU strike

    Senate moves to avert ASUU strike

    The Senate on Tuesday pledged to engage relevant stakeholders to avert  the warning strike being planned by the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU).

    ASUU had on Monday announced plans to embark on a one-week warning strike over the inability of government to implement agreements reached with it since 2009.

    The move by the Senate to intervene in the matter followed a motion moved by Sen. Jibrin Barau (APC-Kano North) under matters of urgent national importance.

    The President of the Senate, Dr Bukola Saraki, urged the chamber to intervene and ensure that the eight -year- agreement was fully implemented.

    “We must find a way of seeing to the implementation and we will look into the matter quickly.

    “We will also get the relevant parties to quickly come to the table so that we can find a way of moving forward and report back to us,” he said.

    While reading the motion, Sen. Jibrin Barau, who is Chairman of the Senate Committee on Tertiary Institutions and TetFund, urged government to implement all agreements.

    He also urged government to as well carry out certain actions that were necessary for the wellbeing of the development of Nigerian public universities.

    The lawmaker, however, commended ASUU for choosing the path of dialogue rather than confrontation as a means of resolving all the outstanding issues between it and the Federal Government.

    In his contribution, Sen. Danjuma Goje (APC-Gombe Central) noted that the history of strike in the country was a recurring decimal.

    “It is a disturbing issue to parents and students. There is need to nip it in the bud. We should not allow it to escalate,” Goje said.

    Goje said the motion was apt and called on the senate to engage the leadership of ASUU in order to suspend its planned warning strike.

    The Majority Leader, Sen. Mohammed Ndume, described the senate as a stabilising agent and called for the immediate intervention of the senate leadership in the matter.

  • ASUU to embark on one week warnings strike

    ASUU to embark on one week warnings strike

    After months of industrial peace in the nation’s universities, the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) has asked its members nationwide to embark on a one week warning strike from Wednesday, 16th November, 2016 to protest the failure of government to implement the 2009 agreement with the union.

    The union is also accusing the government of turning the establishment of universities into constituency projects to score political point, saying the union remain opposed to such establishment.

    Addressing a news conference at the end of its emergency National Executive Council meeting in Abuja, National President of the union, Prof. Biodun Ogunyemi said despite several efforts by the union to get the government to respect the tenets of their agreement, the government has failed to do do, causing anxiety among lecturers in the universities.

    He listed the area of disagreement between the union and government to include payment of fraction do staff entitlement and the denial of staff entitlement in respect of earned academic allowance amounting to about N128 billion, funding of universities for revitalization and the refusal to register the the Nigerian Universities Pension Management Company by the National Compensation Commission.

    Others include the introduction of the Treasury Single Account shunning said affects university autonomy, decrease in budgetary allocation to education and the refusal by government to renegotiation of the 2009 agreement which was due for renegotiation since 2012.

    He said: “Our members across the nation are worried that six months after the meeting with the Minister of Education and a series of letters to amplify the need to respect the spirit and letters of the 2009 agreement and the 2013 MoU, there has been no tangible results of the issues raised.

    “This failure puts ASUU leadership in a severe difficulty responding to enquiries from members of the union about the state of affairs in our engagement with the federal government.

    “Following a nationwide consultation with out membership, the National Executive Council of ASUU rose from its meeting on Sunday, 13th November with a resolution to embark on a one week warning strike starting from Wednesday, 16th November, 2016.

    “The nation wide strike action is total and comprehensive. While if last, there shall be no teaching, no examination and no attendance of statutory meeting of any kind in any of our branches.

    “We use this opportunity to call on all education loving Nigerians and friends of Nigeria to prevail on the government to address the patriotic demands of ASUU. For us in ASUU, we shall not surrender until the Nigerian university system is repositioned for transforming the country and global competitiveness.”

    On the establishment of more universities by not the federal and state government, he said: “we are not against democratizing university education by providing more opportunities. But we also believe that if government followed the path which if had agreed on, universities will not be made constituency projects as we are beginning to see.

    “When you say every state must have a university without doing your home work and every governor think that a university must be established in their constituency, it then means we are not paying attention to quality, but using the establishment of universities to make political point.

    “That is what we are against. In other places, what they do as a part of the democratization of university education is to expand facilities, open space for more students to come, me prove the quality of laboratories, library and offices. We are not seeing that happening here. Government is how turning establishment of university into constituency project and that is not acceptable to us.”

    Prof. Ogunyomi said the union and Nigerians have not see any light at the end of the tunnel in terms of the change promised by the APC led federal government, saying “this government is not different from the previous one because it is the same ruling class.

    “We have not found genuine patriots who will do things differently. Our expectations and hopes were raised when we heard the word change. But what we have had so far is just cosmetic. We have not really had the radical change that Nigerians yearned for.

    “A radical departure from from the past has not happened and until that happens, we cannot have a change that will lead to transformation. That is the position of ASUU and we have always said it. Because of the penchant.

  • ASUU faults OAU council dissolution

    ASUU faults OAU council dissolution

    A visitation committee set up by the National Executive Council (NEC) of the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) has faulted the dissolution of the Governing Council of the Obafemi Awolowo University (OAU), Ile-Ife.
    The committee said President Muhammadu Buhari erred when he dissolved the Governing Council of Obafemi Awolowo Univeristy and approved the suspension of an already concluded process for the appointment of a new vice-chancellor.
    The actions, it insisted, contravened the ASUU-FGN agreement.
    The committee, which submitted its report to the NEC at a meeting in Ambrose Alli University, Ekpoma last weekend, noted that “the Governing Council followed the process of selection of Vice Chancellor to its conclusion.”
    It recommended condemnation of the action of Buhari, who is the Visitor to the institution, stating that it violated the Universities Autonomy Act (UAA), which was a product of the agreement reached between the ASUU and the FGN.  
    The committee headed by the national vice president of ASUU, Prof. V. E. Osodeke, had eight members, including two zonal coordinators and three immediate past zonal coordinators.
    The committee was set up in the wake of the crisis that rocked the university following the appointment of a new VC.
    The Non-Academic Staff of Universities (NASU) and Senior Staff Association of Nigeria Universities (SSANU) and some members of ASUU (OAU Branch) had expressed strong displeasure against the process that produced Prof. Ayobami Salami as the 11th VC of the institution.
    They alleged the Prof. Tale Omole’s administration and the Governing Council skewed the process in favour of Salami who was subsequently appointed.
    The union bodies took the matter to the High Court at Osogbo, Osun State and embarked on a strike which led to the closure of the university for weeks.
    A faction within the OAU branch of ASUU headed by Prof. Peter Akinola sided with the two non-academic unions.
    It wrote a petition to the national body, claiming certain wrongdoings against the branch executives.
    But a High Court at Osogbo penultimate Monday struck out the case filed by NASU and SSANU challenging the appointment of Salami as VC.
    In his verdict, Justice M. A. Onyetenu stated that the court did not have jurisdiction to entertain the case.
    He asked the appellants to take the case to the Industrial Court at Ibadan Oyo State.
    Buhari, on July 1, in an advertorial published in a national daily announced the dissolution of the Governing Council of the University.
    He also ordered that the process for the appointment of a new VC to replace Prof. Omole be suspended “pending the outcome of the subsisting court case”.
    This was after the appointment process had been concluded with Salami announced as the new VC.
    In August, following the instruction of the Visitor, the Senate of the University met and appointed Prof. Anthony Elujoba as VC in acting capacity.
  • UNILAG students protest ‘unjust’ rustication

    UNILAG students protest ‘unjust’ rustication

    Members of the suspended University of Lagos Student Union (ULSU) executive Wednesday protested what they described as an “unjust rustication” of the union members.

    They gathered at the school’s Senate building to demand thorough investigation of the suspensions of the students’ leaders, ranging from two to four semesters, for their role in a protest that led to the closure of the university in April.

    The students used the opportunity of the inaugural meeting of the university’s newly constituted Senate Wednesday to draw attention to their grievances.

    They bore placards with the inscriptions: “We want better welfarism not victimization;” “Punishment without evidence”; “The student needs a body ULSU is our body”; and “Our leaders don’t deserve the treatment they are getting”.

    The ULSU President, Mohammed Olaniyan, said the students have appealed their suspension.

    “We have written an appeal letter to the Pro-Chancellor to look into the injustice the Senate has done.  Not only have we been unjustly rusticated, but they are also victimizing the leaders and all we did was protest against the unfair treatment of students.”

    Olaniyan also questioned why only seven of the 16-member executive committee were punished when all participated in the protest.

    “Where are the remaining nine members?  Where are their letters – which just shows how biased our Senate is,” he said.

    The USLU speaker, Adeonipekun Adeyanju, said students exercised their right to protest.

    “Every individual has the right to protest.  They said we locked the school gate. What about Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) that locked school gate and no one was sacked or sanction?  This is victimization,” he said.

    General Secretary, Emmanuel Afolabi, also faulted claim that they were punished for misconduct, not for participating in the protest.

    He said, though the management told the media that we were rusticated because of misconduct which is a lie because it was writing in the letter given to us that we are been rusticated for protest. Yet they said we declared protest without congress approval whereas the congress then was not functioning because the vice chancellor did not inaugurate the congress.

    Responding to the allegations of unjust suspension, the Deputy Registrar, Information and Protocol, Mr Toyin Adebule, in a statement, said each student that faced the panel set up by the senate to investigate the protest, were only punished for infractions they committed.

    “The students were duly investigated for specific acts of social misconduct which they carried out. They were individually investigated for instances of wrongdoing in breach of the Social Misconduct and Penalties Regulations of the University of Lagos,” he said.

  • Students groan as Dickson fails to reopen Bayelsa varsity

    Students groan as Dickson fails to reopen Bayelsa varsity

    Three students, lecturer lose lives

    ASUU reduces demands, denies suspending action

    The Governor of Bayelsa State, Mr. Seriake Dickson, has failed to resolve the ongoing industrial action involving all categories of workers at the only state-owned Niger Delta University (NDU) five months after the institution was shut down.

    Investigations revealed that the closure of the institution has dealt deadly blows on the students and lecturers who are at the receiving end of idleness and economic hardship caused by non-payment of salaries.

    Lecturers under the aegis of the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) and other categories of workers commenced industrial action in April to protest the inability of the government to pay them salaries since January.

    The workers said having suffered to discharge their duties without salaries from January to April, they were no longer unable to cope with domestic pressure and cost of going to school for their lectures.

    ASUU declared work-to-rule, asked its members to stay at home pending when government would ameliorate their hardship by paying their backlog of salaries.

    But negotiations to resolve the conflict between the government and the workers were said to have met brick-walls following allegations by ASUU that the government instead of seriously tackling the issues resorted to blackmails to cow them.

    It was further learnt that while ASUU had reduced their terms demanding only two months salaries out of the four they earlier wanted, the government had yet to shift ground on its proposed 50 per cent salaries for two months.

    It was further learnt that within the period of the strike, three students and a lecturer of the university lost their lives in circumstances blamed on the action.

     

  • Strike: Hope dims for Bayelsa varsity students

    Strike: Hope dims for Bayelsa varsity students

    … Lecturers insist on salary payment as meeting ends in deadlock

    Students of the only Bayelsa State University, Niger Delta University (NDU), may have to stay longer at home following the inability of the state government to satisfy the demands of lecturers and other workers in the university.

    The students have spent over four months at home since April when the lecturers exhausted their patience and embarked on an indefinite strike over non-payment of their salaries.

    Workers in the university have not been paid since January, a situation that forced them to down tools and shut down a school that was founded at Amasoma, Southern Ijaw Local Government Area, by late former Governor Diepreye Alamieyeseigha.

    The students took to the streets last month and protested the closure of the school and appealed to the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) to resolve their differences.

    ASUU, however, boiled over accusing the government of playing politics with NDU following its decision to establish the African University (AU) through the House of Assembly via a speedy legislation under a Public Private Partnership (PPP) arrangement.

    It was gathered that a meeting held on Wednesday between government representatives and ASUU to seek ways of resolving the impasse ended in deadlock.

    The Chief of Staff, Chief Talford Ongolo, was said to have led government delegates to meet with ASUU at the Faculty of Law, Gwegwe, Yenagoa.

    Ongolo was said to have met a massively attended congress of ASUU consisting of all cadre of lecturers including reputable professors.

    When Ongolo and his delegates were admitted to the floor of the congress, the lecturers were said to lashed out at him through superior arguments over the way he addressed them.

    A principal member of the union who attended the meeting but spoke in confidence said the chief of staff drew the ire of his colleagues when he accused ASUU of refusing to call off the strike.

    He said: “The Chief of staff started on a  dry bad note by accusing ASUU of refusing to call off the ongoing strike after accepting to suspend the strike after payment of one month salary.

    “He was rebuffed by members of the congress who asked him to either quickly apologise or sit down immediately for telling lies. It took the pleadings and entreaties of exco to calm the  frayed nerves of members .

    “As the congress was calming down, Ongolo raised the sensitive issue of the  African University, Toru Orua.  The Congress flayed up again when he praised the governor for setting up the new university.

    “ASUU  members told him point blank that he (Talford Ongolo) and all the members of the government team attended Rivers State University of Science and technology Port Harcourt.

    “They told him pointblank that the ASUU NDU strike has moved from salary payment to the defence of poor Bayelsan students whose educational opportunities are under serious threat by the calculated attempt by the state government to kill NDU in order to benefit from the proceeds of AU”.

    The source said the lecturers were infuriated when the chief of staff accused three members of ASUU of testifying against the governor at the concluded governorship election petition tribunal that sat in Abuja.

    “Members of the Congress became more infuriated and told Ongolo that the university system has intellectuals drawn from all works of life and that political affiliations of three members have no bearing with the issues in dispute between ASUU and the government”, he said.

    The lecturers were said to have insisted that the government must pay three months out of the outstanding to enable them settle some of their debts and have the capacity to sustain their services at the institution.

    They were said to have told the government not to allow the students suffer at home any longer.

    Ongolo was said to have insisted that the government was desirous of ending the industrial dispute to end the agonies of students.

    He further said Governor Seriake Dickson was willing to address the infrastructural deficit in the university.