Academic activities have become paralysed across Nigerian universities following the indefinite strike launched yesterday by the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU). ASUU’s National President, Dr. Nasir Isa, who gave notice of the resumption of the industrial action suspended by the union in January 2011, said it followed the Nigerian Government’s failure to implement the agreement it reached with the union.

Checks in some universities showed that local chapters of ASUU have taken steps to enforce the directive, although some varsities are reluctant to join the strike. At the University of Lagos in South-West Nigeria, some class captains have sent sms to students about the strike.

Announcing the strike, Dr. Isa, the ASUU National President, said though painful the action would be total, comprehensive, total and indefinite and last for as long as the federal government implements details of the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) both parties signed in 2011.

He said that the decision to have the strike was reached at the National Executive Committee (NEC) meeting of ASUU held at the Olabisi Onabanjo University, Ago Iwoye.

Dr. Isa stressed that the action is as a result of the inability of the federal government to implement some of the issues contained in a 2009 agreement it had with ASUU.

ASUU claimed that the government had also reneged on the MoU it entered into with the union in December 2011.

His words: “Before now, there has been this issue of the implementation of the key issues contained in the 2009 agreement we entered into with the federal government.

“We have had several meetings and deliberations to let government understand why these issues must be resolved but it is like the more we meet and deliberate, the messier the issue gets.

“One of the issues that needed to be addressed was basically that of the Academic earned allowance. This earned allowance, and other issues, had dragged on until government then agreed to write an MoU with the union. But as we speak, there has been nothing to show that government was committed to an MoU it also willingly wrote to better the university sector. It is in this regard that we are embarking on an indefinite strike.”

The ASUU strike is coming two months after the Academic Staff Union of Polytechnic (ASUP) embarked on their own national strike, which is still ongoing.

•Photo shows ASUU National President, Dr. Nasir Isa.

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