The Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) has provided reason for the declaration of lecture-free day in the universities across the country.
Gatekeepers News reports that National President of ASUU, Professor Emmanuel Osodeke said that multiple circulars had been sent to various branches of the union announcing the decision.
The Union also said there’s possiblity of an industrial action any moment from now due to its dispute with the federal government over unresolved issues in the education sector.
The union said that it is embarking on a lecture-free day in the universities across the country on Monday, February 7, 2022, to sensitize the university communities and the public on the failure of the government to honour an agreement the parties entered into in December 2020, and which led to the suspension of the then 9-month prolonged strike.
Osodeke said that the national body had instructed all the chapters to sensitise the public on the nobleness of its cause.
Osodeke added that the union had not yet declared a strike but would be sensitising the public, which includes the media, on the state of affairs between the union and the Federal Government.
Recall that ASUU embarked on a strike action in March 2020, following its disagreement with the Federal Government over the funding of the universities and implementation of the Integrated Payroll and Personnel Information System (IPPIS), which according to the Union, negates the autonomy policy for the universities, among other issues.
ASUU called off its 9-month old strike in December 2020 after the Federal Government agreed to some of its conditions which includes the deployment of University Transparency and Accountability Solution (UTAS) software for payment of its salaries and allowances.
However, a year after signing the MoA, ASUU accused the government of failing to fulfil its side of the bargain and threatened to mobilise for another strike immediately.
