The Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) has criticised the Federal Government for making a last-minute appeal to stop its proposed warning strike, describing the intervention as “a little too late.”
ASUU President, Prof. Chris Piwuna, made this known on Thursday during an interview on Channels Television’s The Morning Brief, where he accused the government of failing to respond promptly to the union’s long-standing issues.
“The problem we have with this government and this Ministry of Education is that they are slow in responding to our demands,” Piwuna said.
He explained that the union had earlier given the government a three-week ultimatum following a meeting in Sokoto but received no response within the stipulated period.
Piwuna stated, “We went for a meeting in Sokoto, and at that time we were about to embark on a strike action.
“They gave us three weeks, we accepted the three weeks, but we never heard a word from them until the three weeks elapsed — not a word from them, courtesy to even say, ‘Oh gentlemen, we think we are running short, three weeks is around the corner, we are unable to meet with you on so-and-so date.’ Nothing, until we threatened action.”
According to him, it was only two working days before the planned strike that the government reached out to appeal for a suspension.
“Yesterday, they appealed to us not to embark on action. Our 2009 agreement — which is still being renegotiated after eight years — remains undone. We have not concluded on it, and two working days before a strike action, you come to appeal to us. I think the appeal has come a little too late,” he said.
Piwuna maintained that the union would proceed with its planned industrial action once the ultimatum ends on Sunday unless the government takes decisive action.
He said, “Their ultimatum expires on Sunday, and after that, there will be a warning strike unless something substantial comes out from the government. So, in the next 48 hours, we expect to receive something substantial from the government.
“Then, we can go back to our members and ask, ‘Do you think this is sufficient for us to hold on?’ and we will do what our members ask us to do.”
ASUU had earlier instructed its branches to get ready for a two-week warning strike set to commence on October 13.
This latest tension between the union and the government persists despite ongoing negotiations to prevent another disruption in academic activities across Nigerian universities.
Meanwhile, the Minister of Education, Dr. Tunji Alausa, stated on Wednesday in Abuja that the Federal Government had entered the final phase of discussions with ASUU and other tertiary education unions to resolve outstanding issues related to welfare, funding, and the implementation of the 2009 ASUU-FGN Agreement.
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