The Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU), Michael Okpara University of Agriculture, Umudike has notified that the union would embark on an indefinite industrial action, to protest the federal government’s failure to keep the agreements it reached with ASUU.
This warning was issued by the Chairman of ASUU, MOUAU branch, Professor Chike Ugwuene, during sensitization forum organised to mobilise members of the union for the looming strike.
Prof Ugwuene regretted that “academic staff of Nigerian Universities have been earning the same salary for the past 13 years since 2009. The salary we earn today has been a slave wage relative to the stupendous take home salaries being paid to the National Assembly members and other political office holders”.
He rejected the application of IPPIS system on ASUU members by the federal government, noting that the University Transparency and Accountability Solution (UTAS) developed by ASUU, which is tested and proved in results, would save the ASUU members from shortcomings of the IPPIS.
MOUAU ASUU Chairman continued , “the salary of a Professor is currently less than $1000 at the current exchange rate of over N500 to the dollar”, adding that non-promotion of staff were other challenges the union members were facing as even he lamented that “these staff are still earning salaries of their previous ranks.”
The ASUU leader also accused the federal government of playing with the educational future of the nation through non-funding for functional infrastructure. Prof. Ugwuene warned that the looming strike may start after the February 2022 National Executive Council (NEC) meeting of ASUU, declaring that it won’t be called off unless the demands of the academic union’s members are met.
