The Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU), which has long been advocating for increased funding for education and improved welfare for its members, appears poised to initiate a nationwide strike following the expiration of its 14-day ultimatum on Sunday.
On Tuesday, members of ASUU at the University of Jos protested, urging the Federal Government to take swift action to prevent the looming strike. The protest began around 11 a.m. and disrupted the ongoing Second Semester examinations at the university. Participants marched through the campus, singing solidarity songs and carrying placards with various messages such as, “Let ASUU members breathe,” “Pay our promotion arrears,” “Adequate funding of universities, Is that hard?” “End ASUU strike now,” “Sign Nimi Briggs MOA,” “IPPIS is a fraud, migrate us now,” and “Tinubu, release our revitalization fund.”
University students joined the protest in a show of solidarity. The demonstrators later gathered at the university’s Senate building, where they were met by top management officials including Vice Chancellor Prof. Tanko Ishaya, Deputy Vice-Chancellor (Administration) Prof. Joash Amupitan (SAN), and Registrar Dr. Rejoice Songden.
Prof. Kiri Jaryum, the Vice Chairman of ASUU at the university, led the protest and told the Vice Chancellor that union members had endured enough hardship and mistreatment from the Federal Government. He emphasized that the union would not tolerate the situation any longer if their demands were not met by the end of the 14-day ultimatum issued by ASUU’s National Executive Committee.
Jaryum presented a 9-point demand to the Vice Chancellor for delivery to the Federal Government. He explained that the protest at the University of Jos was part of a broader movement, with other branches within the Bauchi zone of ASUU, encompassing six universities, conducting similar actions. Jaryum noted that the branch chairperson was coordinating protests elsewhere in the zone and had delegated him to lead the protest at UNIJOS.
The protest letter detailed the union’s longstanding demands, including the payment of earned academic allowances budgeted for 2023, revitalization funds, and salaries for members excluded from the IPPIS platform. Other demands included halting the proliferation of universities, increasing salaries that have been stagnant for 15 years, and returning to the negotiation table to sign the Nimi Briggs committee agreement.
Vice Chancellor Tanko Ishaya, who received the protest letter, expressed his support for ASUU’s peaceful demonstration and their demands. He assured the union that he would forward the letter to the Federal Government and even add an additional demand regarding the university’s inability to provide electricity due to recent tariff increases.
“I can assure you that we will submit this protest letter to the federal government exactly as you have presented it,” Tanko said. “All the 9 points you have listed affect the entire university community. Some of us are also owed months of salary. We understand your demands, and I will include an additional point about the electricity issue at the University of Jos.”
The PUNCH reports that ASUU threatened a nationwide strike on Tuesday, giving the government a two-week ultimatum to reconstitute the governing councils of federal universities. Although the Federal Government announced the formation of new governing councils for federal universities and other institutions, ASUU rejected this response, insisting that their demands had not been fully addressed.
