The Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) has directed its branches nationwide to convene congresses to deliberate on the outcome of its National Executive Council (NEC) meeting held in Abuja, amid renewed tension over the Federal Government’s refusal to renegotiate the 2009 agreement.
The union said it would not make the Abuja meeting’s resolutions public until members across its branches have been duly briefed by their chairpersons.
ASUU had earlier threatened fresh industrial action if the government failed to address its demands by August 28, warning that it would no longer watch the education sector suffer neglect.
The demands include the renegotiation of the 2009 agreement, earned academic allowances, revitalisation funds, and improved welfare packages for lecturers.
Speaking in an interview, ASUU President, Prof. Christopher Piwuna, said the decision to hold branch congresses was in line with the union’s internal procedures.
“The meeting was held at the behest of our members. The branch chairpersons left Abuja to their various branches. We will first report the outcome of the meeting to our members across all our branches before making it public,” he said.
He added that members would only get official communication through their branches, not the media.
“Our procedure is that once there is a NEC meeting, branch chairpersons will go back and brief their members on the outcome. Our members cannot find out the outcome of our meeting from press interviews, they will hear it firsthand from their branch chairpersons,” he stressed.
Piwuna noted that the union’s next line of action would be determined after the congresses.
“Once our congresses hold, you will know the outcome of our next line of action,” he stated.
The latest move comes as anxiety mounts among students and parents over another possible nationwide strike that could disrupt academic calendars in public universities.
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