By Christiana lot
The Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) Bauchi Zone has called upon the Federal Government to fulfill its promises and implement agreements to prevent further industrial action.
Speaking at the conference, Acting Zonal Coordinator of ASUU Bauchi Zone, Prof. Nanmwa Voncir, emphasized: Prof. Nanmwa Doncir, the Bauchi Zonal Acting Coordinator of the union, made the call in a news conference on Friday in Jos. He emphasized, “We are greatly concerned with the continuing decay in the University system including the unabated brain drain.”
The ASUU Bauchi Zone, consisting of six universities including UniJos, ATBU, FUK, GSU, PLASU, and BASUG, highlighted key unresolved issues with the Federal Government, including the renegotiation of the 2009 agreement, withheld salaries, arrears of earned academic allowances, and the illegal dissolution of governing councils.
Regarding the renegotiation of the FGN/ASUU 2009 Agreement, prof. Voncir stated: “Renegotiation with Nimi Brigs was completed within six months. However, the then Minister of Labour and Employment, Dr. Chris Ngige, acting the script of his master truncated the process at the point of signing the reviewed draft agreement.”
Prof. Voncir also addressed the issue of withheld salaries, asserting: “There is no justification for withholding lecturers’ salaries if not for the grand design by the ruling class to emasculate and ridicule them.”
Furthermore, he criticized the government’s handling of arrears of earned academic allowances, noting: “ASUU wonders why it must take another round of strike action to get Government to release lecturers‟ entitlements that are already captured in the budget.”
The press conference also condemned the illegal dissolution of governing councils in universities, emphasizing: “ASUU condemns these anomalies in strong terms. It calls on State and Federal Governments to reverse themselves where Governing Councils were dissolved without serving their terms and reconstitute Councils whose tenures have expired without further delay.”
On the issue of the Integrated Personnel and Payroll Information System (IPPIS), Prof. Voncir stated: “ASUU has consistently rejected the payment platforms because it grossly erodes the autonomy of our Universities”.
Prof. Voncir reaffirmed the commitment of the union to advocating for the welfare of its members and urged all stakeholders, including the media, labor unions, student groups, and civil society organizations, to support efforts to transform Nigeria’s university system.
