The leadership of the Academic Staff Union of Universities, ASSU, has stated that it is only the organs of the Union in the universities that can authorise it to call of the strike it embarked on in March, ten months ago to press for a new and reformed university education system that caters to the growth developmental needs of the country through research and top notch education.
In a statement by President of the Union, Prof Biodun Ogunyemi, on Wednesday, he said the leadership of the union which has been negotiating with the Federal Government team over the prolonged strike lack the power to call off the strike.
He said: “To put the records straight, the principal officers and trustees who constitute the core of representatives of ASSU at negotiation meetings with government are not constitutionally empowered to suspend any strike, Whatever comes out of engagements with the agents of government is and offer which must be taken back to the branches through the various organs of the union. This trade union strategy of offer and counter- is continually deployed until the National Executive Council of ASUU-consisting of all recognised chairpersons finally approves what it considers and acceptable offer from government. It is only then any strike action by ASUU can be suspended.”
Minster of Labour and Employment, Dr Chris Ngige had on Tuesday stated that ASUU had agreed with government to call-off the strike on December 9, 2020 and accused the lecturers bad faith for failing to do so
In a statement from his media office on Tuesday, titled, ‘We have kept our promises to ASUU – FG,’ Ngige stated that ASUU agreed at their last meeting with the government team on November 27 to call off their nine-month-old strike before December 9.
“The truth of the matter is that a ‘gentleman agreement’ was reached at the last meeting in which ASUU agreed to call off the strike before December 9, 2020, and the minister, in turn, agreed that once the strike is called off, he would get a presidential waiver for ASUU to be paid the remainder of their salaries on or before December 9,” Ngige stated.
In response, ASUU referred the Minister to a clause in the their agreement, that stated that; “based on the these conclusions reached on items 1-8, ASUU’s leadership will consult its organs with a view to suspend the ongoing strike.”
