The Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU), University of Calabar Branch, has warned the Federal Government against forcing the union into what it described as the “mother of all strikes” over unresolved issues.
Dr. Peter Ubi, Chairman of the branch, issued the warning on Tuesday during a media engagement at the ASUU Secretariat in Calabar.
He said the government had consistently failed to address key demands of the union, which include renegotiation of the 2009 ASUU-FGN Agreement, sustainable funding of universities, revitalisation of the education system, and the alleged victimisation of members at LASU, KSU (now Prince Abubakar Audu University) and FUTO.
Other unresolved issues, he said, were outstanding 25–35 per cent salary arrears, four years of unpaid promotion arrears, and third-party deductions.
“The government made promises on these issues; regrettably, these undisputed issues have not been resolved over several years now. The government cannot continue to keep the union talking forever. ASUU has explored several ways of resolving the conflict in the education sector, but government has paid deaf ears to our legitimate demands,” he said.
The union further decried a situation where a senior academic who has served for over 40 years ends up with a monthly salary of N150,000, describing it as “cruel and unacceptable.”
Dr. Ubi said the poor remuneration had worsened the health conditions of retired academics, adding that the ugly trend must be urgently reversed.
ASUU also faulted the planned student loan scheme, describing it as a bait to cripple university-based cooperative societies.
While welcoming the moratorium on new public universities announced by the Federal Government, the union questioned why the directive was not extended to private tertiary institutions.
