ASUU: STRIKE LOOMING AS FG YET TO MEET OUR DEMANDS

Published

2 years ago

April 8, 2023

Eniola sanni

The Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU)

has questioned the distribution of the N320.3

billion just released by the Federal Government for

tertiary institutions in the country.

The Executive Secretary of the Tertiary Education

Trust Fund (TETFund), Sonny Echono, on

Wednesday announced that President

Muhammadu Buhari has approved N320.3 billion

for the 2023 intervention for public tertiary

institutions. The 2023 intervention cycle will see

each university receiving N1,154,732,133.00;

polytechnic N699,344,867.00, while each college

of education would get N800,862,602.

However, in an interview with Channels Television

on Thursday, ASUU President, Emmanuel Osodeke,

while commending the government for the fund

release, asked for redistribution of the fund to

ensure 90% goes to the tertiary institutions. “it

(N320bn fund) is a good development, this is part

of what we struggle for in 1994, it is our struggle,

but there are issues we need to sort out”,Osodeke

said.

When you check the allocation of about N1.2 billion

to universities and others, you find out thatbillion to

universities and others, you find out that the total

for all the universities, polytechnics, and colleges of

education come to just about N186 billion

allocated out of about N320, leaving a balance of

N132 billion that has not been accounted for. What

are we using that N132 billion which is 41% of the

total amount of money? ls it for bureaucracy or for

what?

“This is what has been happening in TETFund and I

think there is a need to examine what exactly is

happening at TETFund. The idea of this TETFund

when it was negotiated by ASUU was that this

money will come and be distributed to the

universities, not keeping 41% for whatever purpose.

“I think we need a redistribution of this fund to

ensure that it accounts for 90% of what has been

approved to go to universities, polytechnic and not

kept as bureaucracy or whatever. You need to tell

the public what TETFund is doing with the balance

of N132 billion, he added.

Osodeke also lamented that since the university

lecturers union called off its strike that lasted for

about nine months, the government has never

called them for any meeting, saying that most of

the issues that caused the strike are still not sorted out.

NLC, TUC, ASUU, Others Defy Court Order As They Begin Strike

Published

1 year ago

November 14, 2023

Pamilerin Fedpolygist

The NLC had on Monday announced the commencement of the industrial action from midnight of Monday, 13 November, in defiance to a restraining order issued by the National Industrial Court in Abuja on Friday.

The Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC), the Trade Union Congress (TUC) and its affiliates including the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU), on Tuesday, began a nationwide strike, in defiance to a restraining court order barring them from embarking on the industrial action.

The two major labour unions, NLC and TUC, had declared the strike, following the brutalisation of the NLC president, Joe Ajaero, in Imo State on 1 November. Mr Ajaero was attacked in Owerri, the state capital, during an NLC protest against the Imo State government over alleged maltreatment of workers in the state.

The unions on Monday directed their members to down tools across the country as from Tuesday.

This is despite the restraining order issued by the National Industrial Court, in Abuja, on Friday, stopping the labour unions from embarking on the strike. The judge, Benedict Kanyip, ordered the two major labour unions to stop their industrial action scheduled to commence 14 November.

The interim order followed an ex-parte request by the Nigerian government through the office of Attorney General of the Federation (AGF) and Minister of Justice, due to the Labour unions’ threat to embark on strike.

Ignoring the court order, ASUU President, Emmanuel Osodeke, a professor of soil science, on Monday, directed compliance with the strike declaration in a letter to ASUU zonal coordinators and branch chairpersons across the country.

“As an affiliate of NLC, all members of our union are hereby directed to join this action of NLC to protect the interest of Nigerian workers and the leadership of the union. Zonal coordinators and branch chairpersons should immediately mobilise our members to participate in the action,” ASUU President, Mr Osodeke, wrote in a letter to zonal and branch chairpersons of the union.

When PREMIUM TIMES asked Mr Osodeke if he was aware of the subsisting court order stopping the strike, he said the question should be directed to the NLC which called for the strike.

“Call the NLC, ASUU did not declare a strike, NLC declared the strike. Call NLC,” he said in a telephone interview on Tuesday morning.

But the NLC’s head of information, Benson Upah, did not respond to phone calls and messages sent to his line requesting for comments, as of the time of filing this report.

The labour unions had, on Monday, refused to acknowledge the court order while directing their members to withdraw their services as from Tuesday.

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