ASUU protests over FG’s failure to meet demands

Federal University Oye-Ekiti branch of the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) has protested over insensitivity of the Federal Government in addressing the issues confronting its members despite their persistent outcry.

The FUOYE branch of ASUU expressed their grievances on Friday at the Oye Campus of the institution during a peaceful protest to draw the general public’s attention to the state of ASUU’s struggles with the Federal Government.

The ASUU Chairperson in FUOYE, Fagbuagun Ojo Abayomi, said that the union is emotionally and physically distressed by the Federal Government’s failure to address the numerous challenges hindering the development of academics in the university system.

He highlighted the outstanding issues, including the renegotiation of the FGN/ASUU 2009 agreement, withheld salaries of academic staff, unpaid promotion arrears, underfunding of universities, earned academic allowances, and the degenerating socio-economic crisis, among others.

He disclosed that the union would not hesitate to embark on yet another industrial action if the government’s insensitive stance persists

According to him, “The union was very hopeful that the Tinubu Administration would address all the issues affecting us, based on his campaign promises to end the ASUU strike. But the government has shown insensitivity and has not responded to the issues at stake

“Despite our good intentions to make our universities better, the government has continued to unleash untold hardship on the lecturers and students.

“Nevertheless, the patriotic stance of the union is without doubt, and we shall continue to speak up to ensure that our universities become centers of excellence.

“However, if the insensitive stance of the government persists and our members are pushed to the wall, the union should not be blamed by Nigerians for any avoidable industrial action.”

While calling on the Federal Government to discontinue the use of IPPIS as a payment platform, the chairperson regretted that the government used the power of the judiciary to activate the no-work-no-pay regime whenever they embark on any industrial action.

He said, “It is noteworthy to mention that before ASUU embarks on any industrial action, it ensures that the conditions for embarking on such action are fully fulfilled. Such travesty of justice, if allowed to continue through executive muscling of the union, will never augur well for the academic sector.

“We call on the government to honestly discontinue the use of IPPIS as a payment platform, which is inconsistent with the University Establishment Act. As a solution, ASUU developed UTAS (University Transparency and Accountability Solution) as a way to alleviate payment problems encountered through IPPIS, but the government rejected it after the software was tested with a 98.8% performative evaluation.

“We want to state without mincing words that the budgetary allocation to education has always been meager over the years. This has created crises in terms of infrastructural development, teaching and research equipment acquisition, acute shortage of staff, students’ accommodation, water and electricity supply, among others.

“ASUU FUOYE hereby condemns in all ramifications the sheer insensitivity of the government and demands that the revitalization fund be released without further delay. We additionally demand that budgetary allocation to education be reviewed upwardly to reflect international best practices.”