University academic staff union ASUU has asked the federal government to keep its word and carry out the terms of the agreement it reached with the government to avoid strikes.
This was disclosed at a news conference held by Mr. Abdulqadir Muhammad, the ASUU Coordinator in charge of the Kano Zone, following a zonal meeting on Wednesday in Kano.
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According to him, one of the problems is that the current exchange rate is N1,900 to the dollar, when in 2009 it was N146. This led to the need to renegotiate the agreement between the federal government and ASUU.
The exchange rate, according to Muhammad, has reduced their salaries by 90%.
He expressed his disappointment that the new leadership of the negotiation committee had made the federal government so determined to sign the union’s draft agreement.
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As a gesture of goodwill, the union is urging President Bola Tinubu to sign the renegotiated draft agreement put forth by the Nimi Briggs Committee as soon as possible. This will help avoid an industrial crisis and give Nigeria’s public universities a fighting chance, he added.
Muhammad, on the other hand, verified that union members had gotten a portion of their seven months’ delayed wages and emphasized the need of making sure the rest of the money was paid.
Kaduna State University’s payments that have been withheld for five months should be paid by the Kaduna government, he added.
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Muhammad strongly opposed the dissolution of public university governing councils and said that this action violated university statutes and the Universities Miscellaneous Acts, among other things. He also demanded payment of EAAs and unpaid promotion arrears.
To prevent the unchecked expansion of universities in Nigeria without sufficient financing, he went on to call for a review of the NUC Act.
Concerning the country’s status, the union voiced its disapproval of the recent wave of insecurity, poverty, unemployment, increasing cost of living, dislocation, and destitution.
In its selfless fight to reshape Nigerian public universities, ASUU takes this occasion to rally all patriots in the media, civil society, labor movement, and student groups.
The zone has formally urged President Bola Tinubu to honor the collective bargaining agreement it voluntarily signed with the unions, he added.
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