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The Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) said on Monday that it would commence a warning strike on Oct. 2. A statement signed by Mr Ben Ugheoke, the Chairman, University of Abuja chapter of ASUU, stated that the Federal Government had failed to embark on meaningful dialogue with the union. “We have tried to dialogue with the Federal Government but they have been playing games with us; we will start with a warning strike to show them we are not jokers.
“ASUU has being trying to get the attention of the Federal Government to intervene in the academic system of universities across Nigeria but it has all been abortive. “Consequently, ASUU will give a warning strike which will start on Oct. 2nd. Minister of Education, Adamu Adamu “The strike will last for one week, and if they do not give us listening ears, we will start the indefinite strike in November,’’Ugheoke said in the statement. The ASUU, had at a recent news briefing accused the Federal Government of reneging on the 2009 agreement with the union. ASUU’s Coordinator, Abuja Zone, Dr Theophilus Lagi, also said in the statement that the government had only implemented 30 per cent of the provisions of Universities Needs Assessment document. He said that the fund was disbursed indiscriminately to university councils as a fall out of the six months industrial action the union embarked upon in 2009. Lagi urged the Federal Government to fully implement the 2009 agreement it reached with the union in order to avert another industrial action by the nation’s public universities.
“The struggle to implement the 2009 ASUU/FGN agreement is not about the union; it is not about the personal benefits of the members only. “The current issues in contention include funding of universities for revitalisation in line with the Memorandum of Understanding the Federal Government and ASUU had signed in 2013. “Re-negotiation of the FGN/ASUU 2009 agreement ASUU believes will reposition the entire education sector. “We also demand the facilitation of the registration of the Nigerian Universities Pension Management Company (NUPEMCO), among other issues in the FG/ASUU 2009 agreement,’’ he said.