We Have Not Suspended Strike – ASUU Debunks Rumour

Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) has refuted claims that the union has suspended its seven-month-old ongoing strike, saying it is a blatant falsehood. The union said they are still on negotiations terms with the federal government officials with a view to finding a workable solution for normalcy to return to the nation’s public university were still ongoing in Abuja, the federal capital territory.

According to the union, reports on social media platforms that the Federal Government had released N30 billion for Earned Academic Allowance (EAA) is false and therefore should not be considered by the public. Profesor Olusiji Sowande, The Lagos zonal coordinator of ASUU, who is a lecturer at the Federal University of Agriculture Abeokuta (FUNAAB), told EkohotBlog in an interview that industrial strike action has not been called off by ASUU.

Analysing the details also in a separate interview with EkohotBlog, the chairman of ASUU at University of Lagos (UNILAG), Akoka, Dr Dele Ashiru, said ASUU Executive Council (NEC) of the union that had the constitutional authority to suspend or call off the strike which must tally with the union’s policy.

He stated further that, the ASUU president had no authority to suspend or call off the strike as it’s not the president (but the congress) that declared the strike in the first instance.

His words;

“So, ASUU is not Nigerian Labour Congress (NLC) that goes to meetings and takes decisions that concern all members right at the venue of the meeting without tabling such before the NEC, let alone the congress, “

“Whatever the Federal Government put on the negotiation table with ASUU representatives at the meeting would still be referred to the congress of the various branches before the final decision would be taken.

He said the N30 billion that the federal government said it would pay as earned allowances was a promise due for payment next January.

He said government and the society were not being fair to the lecturers, saying “no professor in Nigeria earns up to 500,000 as salary monthly while a political office holder earns as much as over N10 million monthly.

“So, ASUU strike is still solidly ongoing,” he stressed.

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