The Chairman of the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU), Emmanuel Osodeke, has announced that the union will determine its next course of action within two weeks if the federal government fails to implement previously reached agreements.
According to THE SUN, this statement comes amid growing unrest and planned protests by the Non-Academic Staff Union of Educational and Associated Institutions (NASU) and the Senior Staff Association of Nigerian Universities (SSANU).
Speaking to the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on Monday, Osodeke emphasized the critical two-week period as a time frame to assess any progress made by the government.
“At the meeting called by the Minister of Education, we agreed that after two weeks, we would meet to see the progress the government has made. We will also see what we will do next if the government fails to implement the agreements reached. The meeting in the next two weeks is to see what they have done, which will inform our decision,” Osodeke stated.
Osodeke highlighted the government's ongoing failure to implement the 2009 re-negotiated agreements as a primary concern for the union.
He pointed out that revitalization funds, essential for upgrading university standards to attract international students and lecturers, have largely remained unpaid since 2013, with only one installment disbursed.
“Since 2013, only one has been paid. We need revitalization funds to upgrade our universities to standard so that we can be having students and lecturers from outside the country,” he added.