The Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) on Monday declared a one-month warning strike in a bid to compel the federal government to meet its demands.
ASUU Embarks On Warning Strike
It was gathered that the ASUU resolved to embark on a one-month “comprehensive and total” strike following a two-day meeting between the academic union and the National Executive Council (NEC) which started on Saturday, February 12, 2022.
A source at the meeting held in Lagos confirmed to newsmen on Monday morning that the union took the decision “reluctantly” despite interventions by many prominent Nigerians.
He said that the warning strike is to allow the Federal Government to do the needful and to save Nigeria’s university system considering what he described as the deteriorating state of Nigerian universities.
The source was quoted as saying, “We just want to give the government a long rope hoping that it would see the need to avoid a total paralysis of academic activities in the nation’s universities.
“We are parents too and have our children in the system but we cannot watch and allow the total collapse of education in the country. Our agitation is in the interest of all and if the system is made better, we will all enjoy it.
“Prominent personalities in the country have waded into the matter but the government seems recalcitrant. Our National President would explain more when he briefs the press later today.”
“The indefinite and total strike is for four weeks. We hope govt would do the needful within the next four weeks,” the source added in a terse statement shared with newsmen on Monday morning.
This comes barely one year after ASUU suspended its ten-month-old strike after the federal government met some of their demands, including paying the lecturers their outstanding salaries using an older payment platform, GIFMIS.