The Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU), Tai Solarin University of Education (TASUED) branch, has issued a stern warning to President Bola Tinubu’s administration to fully implement the reviewed 2009 agreement or face what it described as the “mother of all strikes.”
The TASUED branch chairman of ASUU, Dr. Wale Ositoye, gave the warning on Wednesday during a press briefing held shortly after the union staged a peaceful protest at the university’s main gate in Ijagun, Ijebu-Ode, Ogun State.
Ositoye, who led members and executives of the union during the protest, said the action was meant to raise awareness and remind the Federal Government of its long-standing obligation to the union, stressing that ASUU would not hesitate to resume nationwide strike if promises continue to be unfulfilled.
He lamented that 16 years after the signing of the 2009 agreement, government had continued to renege on its commitments, including the periodic review of lecturers’ salaries every three years.
“People are still receiving salaries of 2009. They came with a wage increase of 25 to 35 per cent that is not even commensurate with today’s economic reality,” Ositoye said.
He further faulted Tinubu’s economic policies, particularly the removal of fuel subsidy and the floating of the naira, which he said had worsened living conditions for university workers and ordinary Nigerians.
According to him, the government’s approach of offering wage awards and loans instead of fulfilling agreements is unacceptable.
“We are not beggars. There is a principle called collective bargaining. Even if they promise 300 per cent wage increment, ASUU will not accept until we bargain for what we want. What we want is the review and implementation of the 2009 agreement,” he insisted.
Ositoye also rejected the Federal Government’s proposal of interest-free loans for lecturers, describing it as an insult.
“Who is asking you for a loan? What we want is salary enhancement, Earned Academic Allowance (EAA), and revitalization of infrastructure in our universities. Union leaders cannot be guarantors for loans. We reject that in totality,” he declared.
The ASUU leader accused successive governments of frustrating genuine attempts at resolving the lingering issues, blaming former Minister of Labour and Productivity, Dr. Chris Ngige, for allegedly truncating the report of the Yayale Ahmed-led negotiation committee.
He noted that the last tranche of N50 billion released for EAA ended in 2023 and no effort has been made to sustain it, despite ASUU being the originator of reforms such as TETFund aimed at revitalizing universities.
Ositoye urged Nigerians not to blame ASUU for any imminent strike, but rather hold the Federal Government responsible for neglecting agreements that could have stabilized the education sector.
“They boast that they have caged ASUU for the past two years. But let Nigerians know that the chaos in our universities is not caused by ASUU, but by government’s insincerity,” he said.
The TASUED branch chairman maintained that unless the Federal Government shows genuine commitment to implementing the agreement, the union will have no choice but to embark on the “mother of all strikes.”
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