The Academic Staff Union of Universities has stated the condition for calling off its nine-month old industrial action.
While acknowledging some more recent interventions aimed at resolving the crisis, the union said it is willing to cooperate with concerned authorities on the matter but noted that this would not be done to its detriment.
It said ASUU members as stakeholders in the Nigerian University system are equally worried and embarrassed that those in positions of authority over the years displayed seeming indifference to the rot and decay in Nigeria’s public Universities.
“We think it is not too late to do a rethink, we believe if there is the will, there will be away,” it said.
The union however said it will not suspend its ongoing strike until its organs affirm that the welfare and well being of ASUU members are well and the survival of public universities are sufficiently guaranteed
The union further explained that it is still on strike because the principal officers and trustees that represent ASUU at the negotiation table with the Federal Government do not have the power to suspend the strike.
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The Union in a press statement signed by its president, Biodun Ogunyemi said: “The principal officer and Trustees who constitute the core of representatives of ASUU at negotiation meeting with the government are not constitutionally empowered to suspend any strike action.
“Whatever comes out of an engagement with agents of government is an offer which must be taken back to the branches through various organs of the Union.
” Views and perspectives on offers by governments are aggregated and presented to government agents as a counteroffer.
“This trade Union strategy of offer and counteroffer is continually deployed until the National Executive Council (NEC) of ASUU consisting of all recognised chairperson finally approved what is considered an acceptable offer from the government.
“It is only then that any strike action by ASUU can be suspended”.
The union said it had to respond to the widely reported claim by some government agents that all demands of the union had been met and that it also agreed to suspend the ongoing strike on the 9th of December 2020.
The Union further explained: ” At our last meeting in the office of the Minister of Labour and Employment on 27th November 2020, the ASUU leadership promised to faithfully present the latest government offer to its members through the established traditions.
“The latest offer by the government makes proposals on nearly all items of demands by the union with timelines.
“A document which was signed by the Hon. Minister of Labour and Employment, Senator Chris Ngige, contains a proposal on the inauguration of the reconstituted FGN-ASUU Renegotiation Committee (1st December 2020) release of details about visitation panels (1st December 2020) working on actualisation of the release of the withheld salaries of ASUU members on Wednesday 9th December 2020.
” Clause 9 on the document reads: “Based on these conclusions reached on item 1-8, ASUU’s leadership will consult its organs to suspend the ongoing strike”.
“Therefore the ASUU leadership did not have any understanding with the government to suspend the strike on 9th December 2020 and there is nothing in the government offer of 27th November 2020 to suggest that conclusion as allegedly claimed by the minister of Labour and Employment.
“The leadership of ASUU has consistently stated at every meeting with high ranking government officials that the union representatives have no mandate to take the final decision on any strike action by the union.
” All the leadership does is to present government offers through its organ and that we have done faithfully in the current situation.”
The president said that ASUU recognises and appreciates the concerns of all Nigerians who have been calling for an early resolution of the ongoing crisis. “It was a needle crisis in the first place, it happened because the government has consistently failed to faithfully implement the agreements it’s freely signed with the union,” he explained.
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