Lucky Obukohwo, Reporting
The Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) has said that the association is not afraid of going on strike over the salaries owed them.
The Zonal Coordinator of ASUU Lagos Zone, Prof. Adelaja Odukoya said this while addressing newsmen in the state.
According to him “if the government fails to pay the three and a half months outstanding salaries and the arrears of Earned Academic Allowances, our union is prepared to use all legitimate means to ensure payment including but not limited to invoking no pay, no work.”
“ASUU is not afraid of going on strike. We are not slaves. Strike is a legitimate tool to seek our demands.
“We have done our jobs but the government refused to pay us our salaries and Earned Academic Allowances.
“There is no court injunction that says we cannot go on strike. The last court injunction was given for a specific purpose. ASUU obeyed the court order because we are a law abiding body and the specific purpose has ended.
“The government is not doing enough for the university system.”
“The government doesn’t want to work with ASUU, the same thing they are doing with the Nigeria Labour Congress.”
“By now we should have concluded the issue of the 2009 agreement, Earned Allowances and IPPIS.”
“The government is not working to make the university system industrial action free,” Odukoya said.
The coordinator enumerated other ASUU demands to include recall of five sacked union leaders at Lagos State University (LASU) by the state government, renegotiation of FG/ASUU 2009 agreement, proliferation of universities, funding of universities and deliberate crisis in some universities.
He opined that Nigeria is on the verge of collapse and all of its parts are being pulled along with it by the type of leaders who control its political and administrative spheres.
“If Nigeria must be great, the central role of universities cannot be over emphasized. In order to perform its development mandate, our public universities like their counterparts across the globe must enjoy autonomy in teaching and governance.
“If things continue as it is, our union as patriotic union will rise powerfully in defense of the Nigerian public universities and over-burdened and inhumanly over-taxed Nigerian people.
The Nigerian government will do well to take heed before it is too late”, Odukoya said.