ACADEMIC STAFF UNION OF UNIVERSITIES (ASUU)

PORT HARCOURT ZONE

PRESS RELEASE 19th August, 2022

RESPECT COLLECTIVE BARGAINING: ASUU TELLS FGN

1. The public space, in the last few days, has been inundated with
myriads of news regarding the inability of the Federal Government
of Nigeria (FGN) to resolve the over six months’ impasse between
it and the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) on Tuesday,
16th August, 2022. The unpalatable outcome of the meeting,
following the Federal Government’s abandonment of the draft
renegotiated 2009 FGN-ASUU Agreement and failure to address
any of the other issues that led to the strike, have affirmed our
doubt regarding the Federal Government’s commitment towards
ending the current strike.

2. Our Union was forced into the present strike on 14th February,
2022 following the refusal of the FG to honour the terms of the
Agreement - Memorandum of Action (MoA) which led to the
conditional suspension of the last strike in December, 2020. Some
of the terms of the MoA include the renegotiation of the 2009 FGN-
ASUU Agreement which covers funding, conditions of service,
university autonomy and academic freedom; the deployment of
University Transparency and Accountability Solution (UTAS) – a

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 payment platform suitable for the payment of personnel
emoluments in universities, payment of promotion arrears and
earned academic allowances, amendment of the NUC Act to check
proliferation of state universities; among others.

3. By the terms of the 2009 FGN-ASUU Agreement, renegotiation of

the Agreement has been due since 2012 (10 years ago). However,
it took our Union several years of concerted and consistent efforts
to bring the Federal Government to the renegotiation table in 2017
with Dr Wale Babalakin as the Leader of the Federal Government’s
Team and the Chairman of the Committee. The whole process of
renegotiation under Dr Wale Babalakin’s leadership dragged for
unproductive three years before Emeritus Professor Munzali Jibril
was appointed to replace him as the Chairman of the Committee
in 2020. It took the Federal Government almost one calendar year
to make an official response regarding the Draft Agreement
produced by Emeritus Professor Munzali Jibril led Committee, and
what ensued was the reconstitution of the Renegotiation
Committee by the Federal Government with Emeritus Professor
Nimi Briggs as the Chairman.

4. It is saddening to note that the Federal Government on Tuesday,

16th August, 2022, shamelessly abandoned the Draft Agreement
which is a product of collective bargaining between it (represented
by the Briggs Committee) and our Union, to award us a miserly
salary package. One wonders why, a Government that cries of
paucity of funds on a daily basis, will waste so much resources and
time on renegotiating an Agreement it is not willing to sign and
implement.

5. In line with relevant labour laws such as Boards and Industrial

Council’s Decree No. 1 of 1973, The Trade Dispute Act of 1976,
ILO Conventions (1948, 1950 and 1988), Udoji Commission Report
of 1974, Cookey Commission Report of 1981, among others,

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 Agreements between the Federal Government and our Union since
1981, have been based on the principles of collective bargaining.

6. It is quite unfortunate and regrettable that the Minister of

Education, Mallam Adamu Adamu whose ineptitude led to and
prolonged this avoidable strike, has gone on air to misinform the
public in a manner that is characteristic of the Nigerian ruling class,
on why the meeting of 16th August, 2022, between the Nimi Briggs
led Committee and ASUU did not yield any meaningful result,
instead of tendering unreserved apology to Nigerians for an
abysmally poor outing in the Ministry of Education. He was
nowhere to be found at a time he was supposed to have taken
proactive steps to prevent the strike and just one month into the
strike, he stopped our salaries thinking that the deployment of the
weapon of starvation will weaken and scuttle our collective resolve.

7. It is very sad and typical of the ruling class to lie without remorse.
While the dis-honourable Minister of Education would lie to
Nigerians that all issues have been resolved apart from the
withheld salaries, Nigerians should ask him to provide the evidence
of: (a) the release of the revitalization fund as claimed by him, (b)
the signed renegotiated agreement; (c) the amended National
Universities Commission Act geared towards empowering NUC to
curtail proliferation of state universities without funding them as
the case in most states; (d) the instrument authorizing the
adoption of UTAS, as all Nigerians have become fully aware that
IPPIS failed the integrity test woefully as attested to by the
Minister for Communication and Digital Economy; (d) the payment
of the outstanding EAAs; and (e) the white papers on the visitation
report for the Federal universities.

8. Nigerians should be aware of offers the so-called minister came up

with. These are: (a) one hundred and seventy billion naira for
revitalization in the 2023 budget; (b) a promise to increase by
sixty thousand naira (N60,000) the salary of a Professor at the bar

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 in next year’s budget; (c) no statement on the amendment of the
NUC act gathering dust at the national assembly (d) payment of
two tranches of outstanding EAA in next year’s budget; (d) a
promise to adopt UTAS; and (e) another promise to release the
white papers.

9. Imagine the level of deceitfulness by the Minister! A promise to

fulfill demands in an election year? We did not embark on strike
for over six months geared towards improving our public
universities only to come back with mere promissory notes from a
Government that is notorious for reneging on agreements. I’m
sure Nigerians would not forgive us.

10. On the issue of withheld salaries, and the claim that we do not
deserve the salaries. We challenge the government to prove if the
unproductive staff of our moribund refineries and other agencies
of similar nature are not being paid. They should also justify why
unproductive politicians that are responsible for the current
comatose state of Nigeria, are receiving humongous salaries and
allowances. For the avoidance of doubt, teaching is only one of the
assignments we undertake as lecturers. It only earns a candidate
going for promotion a maximum of one point per year. Research
and community service are the core requirements for promotion.

11. The current move by the Federal Government to jettison the

principle of collective bargaining and reduce our Union’s objective
and patriotic struggle to revamp and reposition public universities
in Nigeria to mere award of miserly salaries, ranging from N30,
000 to N60, 000 is unacceptable to us.

12. The Federal Government through the Ministry of Education should

demonstrate good faith in resolving the current strike by returning
to the new Draft Agreement produced by the third Renegotiation
Committee they constituted and addressing all other related
issues.

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 13. From the statement of the Minister of Education asking students
to take ASUU to Court for compensation, he appears to be
surprised that Nigerians are yet to take the Federal Government
to Court to request for compensation for the untold hardship it has
inflicted on Nigerians for over seven years.

14. We call on the Minister for Education to resign for demonstrating

crass incompetence ever since he assumed duty contrary to what
he promised before his appointment and during his ministerial
screening, as his tenure has witnessed the greatest level of
instability in the tertiary education sector.

15. Thank you.

Signed:
Stanley Ogoun
Zonal Coordinator
19th August, 2022.

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