The Academic Staff Union of Universities, ASUU, Ahmadu Bello University, ABU, Zaria branch, says the Federal Government should be held responsible if they embark on strike.
Speaking during a peaceful protest in Zaria on Friday, the aggrieved lecturers accused the Federal Government of insincerity and neglect, a situation which they said had worsened the living and working conditions of universities academic staff.
The branch chairman, Comrade Haruna Mohammed Jibril, stated that the union’s demands include the renegotiation of the 2009 FGN/ASUU Agreement, funding for public university revitalization and payment of outstanding entitlements.
He noted that the Federal Government refused to renegotiate the ASUU/FGN 2009 agreement 15 years after it was signed, while also refusing to sign the draft agreement, leaving lecturers on the same salary regime since 2009, despite progress made in renegotiations.
According to him, the government had underfunded Nigerian universities, leading to inadequate infrastructure.p
He urged the public to hold the Federal Government responsible if a strike occurs and called for support from parents, students and stakeholders in the struggle for better university funding and conditions.
The union called for the reinstatement of governing councils whose tenures have not yet expired and reconstitution of those whose tenures have elapsed, saying that ABU is currently grappling with severe financial challenges exacerbated by underfunding and exorbitant electricity tariffs.
The tariffs, according to him, have inflated the university’s expenses to approximately N10 million per day, placing immense strain on its financial resources.
According to him, the financial burden recently resulted in disruptions to the university’s electricity supply and essential municipal services until immediate interventions were implemented.
The university lecturers called on the Federal Government to prioritize the reduction of electricity tariffs as a crucial step in supporting education and fostering sustainable development nationwide, pointing out that “prompt action on this issue will safeguard the viability of the education sector and promote the advancement of higher education in Nigeria”.
