By Gabriella Ogbu<\/p>\n
Over the past decade and a half, more than 400 members of the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) have reportedly been dismissed for advocating for their rights and the betterment of the higher education system.<\/p>\n
ASUU attributes these dismissals to the frequent intimidation and persecution in state-owned institutions, where visiting governors are intolerant of dissenting viewpoints and practices.<\/p>\n
Dr. Dele Ashiru, a former ASUU chairman of the University of Lagos (UNILAG) chapter, highlighted these issues during a Leadership Training Workshop for newly appointed union executives at Olabisi Onabanjo University (OOU), Ago-Iwoye, Ogun State.<\/p>\n
The workshop covered topics such as collective bargaining, negotiation, and the qualities required for effective union leadership. Ashiru affirmed that the union will continue to defend its members against harassment while upholding ethical standards. He emphasized, “ASUU will keep doing this if it serves the interests of the union’s membership as a whole. We have been supporting members who have been harassed for standing up for the union’s interests and the improvement of the university system.”<\/p>\n
He also stressed that the union has disciplined numerous members for unethical behavior and will continue to do so if violations are proven. “The union forbids any kind of indiscipline,” Ashiru stated.<\/p>\n
Ashiru lamented the deliberate persecution of union members, citing the dismissal of 100 members at Ambrose Ali University, Ekpoma, and similar occurrences in Kogi State. He noted that the union frequently clashes with institutional management over policies that often have political motivations.<\/p>\n
Dr. Wasiu Olooto, ASUU-OOU’s acting branch chairman, explained that the workshop aimed to educate executives about their responsibilities and constraints.<\/p>\n
ASUU has urged President Bola Tinubu to sign the Nimi Briggs renegotiated draft as a gesture of goodwill and assurance for public universities. The union maintains that without implementing the Nimi Briggs report, the repositioning of public universities for international recognition will remain an unattainable goal.<\/p>\n
During a joint news conference hosted by the chapters of Usman Danfodiyo University (UDUS) and Sokoto State University, ASUU highlighted several critical issues affecting public universities. These included the renegotiation of the 2009 agreement, withheld salaries, earned academic allowances, and the illegal dissolution of governing councils.<\/p>\n
Branch chairs Saidu Abubakar (Sokoto State University) and Muhammad Mustapha (UDUS) expressed dismay at the Federal Government’s failure to implement the Nimi Briggs report on the 2009 accord renegotiation. They also pointed out issues such as the incomplete staff quarters at Sokoto State University, promotion arrears, inadequate funding for universities, and a worsening socioeconomic crisis that has exacerbated the nation’s security situation.<\/p>\n
They argued that insufficient funding for universities hampers the resolution of issues like the lack of lecture halls, theaters, housing, and office space. Additionally, the union criticized the continued use of the IPPIS platform for university salaries, which ASUU argues compromises university autonomy.<\/p>\n
“We are disappointed to see that universities are still paid through the IPPIS platform, which ASUU has continuously opposed on the grounds that it compromises our universities’ autonomy,” they stated. They also expressed concern that some elements within and outside the government might be attempting to undermine the transition away from IPPIS.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
By Gabriella Ogbu Over the past decade and a half, more than 400 members of the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) have reportedly been dismissed for advocating for their rights and the betterment of the higher education system. ASUU attributes these dismissals to the frequent intimidation and persecution in state-owned institutions, where visiting governors […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":6035,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[172],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-35984","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news"],"aioseo_notices":[],"amp_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/abujacityjournal.com\/livenews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/35984","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/abujacityjournal.com\/livenews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/abujacityjournal.com\/livenews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/abujacityjournal.com\/livenews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/abujacityjournal.com\/livenews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=35984"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/abujacityjournal.com\/livenews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/35984\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":35985,"href":"https:\/\/abujacityjournal.com\/livenews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/35984\/revisions\/35985"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/abujacityjournal.com\/livenews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/6035"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/abujacityjournal.com\/livenews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=35984"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/abujacityjournal.com\/livenews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=35984"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/abujacityjournal.com\/livenews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=35984"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}