The Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) Benin Zone on Thursday said the federal government’s failure to resolve its demands is an invitation to the impending paralysis in Nigeria’s public universities.
The union added that the alleged lack of sincerity on the part of the Federal and State Governments to address the issues has worsened the living and working conditions of academic staff in public universities.
Briefing newsmen on the contending issues between ASUU and Government, Zonal Coordinator, ASUU Benin zone, Prof. Monday Igbafen, urged the public, especially the critical stakeholders of the Nigerian University system “to hold the Nigerian government responsible if paradventure we proceed on strike any moment from now.”
Igbafen said that government’s action to ignore ASUU on the contending issues confirmed the fact that they are not moved by the several clarion calls and efforts the union has made to get it attended to.
He also expressed worry over the illegal dissolution or absence of Governing Councils in some federal and state universities.
“The Union has at several fora condemned the illegal dissolution of the Governing Councils of public universities in the country, as well as the refusal or neglect by some state governments to constitute Councils for their universities,” Igbafen said.
“While the federal government has hastily reconstituted controversial Governing Councils of federal Universities after 11 months of their illegal dissolution, some states governments have remained adamant to the contrary.
“The absence of Governing Councils in the universities has led to unthinkable aberrations in the universities with the introduction of obnoxious policies that are antithetical to university culture.”
Igbafen added that the unresolved issues include the stalled renegotiation of the 2009 FGN/ASUU Agreement, funding for the revitalization of public universities based on the FGN-ASUU MoU of 2021, 2013 and the MoA of 2017 among others.
