Palpable Strike Tension is now rocking University Campuses as the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) holds its National Executive Council (NEC) meeting this week.
The NEC, which is the highest decision making body of the academic union is to review Federal government implementation of the Memorandum of Action (MoA) it signed with the union before it suspended its strike a few months ago.
Both government and ASUU had agreed to an MoA which stipulated that the federal government would have implemented its agreed contents latest by October, 2017.
The federal government according to investigation however was yet to implement issuance of license for the registration of Nigerian University Pension Company (NUPEMCO) which it promised to do within two weeks of strike suspension.
The FG is also defaulting in payment of Earned Academic Allowances and revatilisation funds for public universities.
While both students were seeing asking questions about possibility of ASUU going back on strike based on information that FG was yet to pay the Earned Academic Allowances of lecturers which was supposed to have been paid in October, lecturers are agitated over the silence on the part of government and its leadership.
Some lecturers who spoke to our man in UI on condition of anonymity noted that it was unfortunate that the government had not paid as promised by end of October.
They said they had asked their leadership not to suspend the strike until the government pays the money as promised but were persuaded to test the government.
Based on the tension generated on campuses, ASUU President Professor Biodun Ogunyemi sent a mail on all members to douse the tension over the payment of earned academic allowances
“Dear Comrades, the leadership of the UNion is aware of the palpable tensions on our campuses over the delay in the payment of Earned Academic Allowances (EAA). It is therefore not a surprise that for the past three days, a circular dated 24 October, 2017 related to EAA is already trending on some social media network/platforms. the leadership of the Union can say CATEGORICALLY that the gaps/Omissions in the said circular were addressed at a meeting with the Honourable Minister of Education last weekend. We have gone far on the matter and there should be results in a matter of days. Thank you”
Our man gathered that the Federal Government audit teams have visited campuses and concluded the auditing of staff as agreed but was yet to pay the 23billion Naira promised by the end of October as payment for the 2009/2010 Earned Academic Allowances of lecturers in public universities in Nigeria.
A top ASUU chieftain confided in our man that the NEC of the union will review the implementation of the Memorandum of Action and jointly take a decision on it.
