The Academic Staff Union of Universities has again indicated that if the federal government does not implement its Memorandum of Action, MoA, by January ending, they will likely shut down universities.
Speaking with Vanguardngr in an interview, the Union’s president, Prof. Emmanuel Osodeke, said the union was waiting for the period of grace given to lapse before taking the necessary steps.
“As a responsible union, we are consulting widely on the issues at stake. We have an MoA that is yet to be implemented fully and we also have the renegotiation of the 2007 Agreement pending. A lot of groups and concerned individuals have stepped in to intervene in the matter.
“We are responsible unionists and citizens and we must give room to those interventions; may be they can help persuade the government to do the needful. We have given them up till the end of this January and if nothing is forthcoming, we can take the next step,” he said.
It was gathered that if the union’s demands are not met, nationwide mobilisation of members would follow and congresses held to mandate the national leadership to act appropriately.
Recall that the MoA came into being following the suspension of a nine-month strike by the union in December 2020. The issues in contention include funding for the revitalisation of the universities and the payment of Earned Academic Allowance which the government has fulfilled
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