Buhari Criticizes ASUU over Continued Strike

 

President Muhammadu Buhari has described the members of the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) as unreasonable over its continued strike action despite the concessions made by his administration. 

Speaking in a meeting with the 36 state governors at the State House, Abuja on Tuesday, the President said lecturers are not taking into consideration the larger challenges facing the country.

“Government conceded something. The problem is that they refused to look at the problem of the whole country.  The Minister of Labour is working hard at it. It is amazing how ASUU will stay out of classrooms for so long. There’s a need for our elites to understand the challenges facing the country.’’

The lecturers have been on strike since March over demands for more funding for public universities and renegotiation of the 2009 FG/ASUU agreement.

They are also protesting against non-payment of their outstanding earned academic allowances, the proliferation of universities by state governments and the constitution of Visitation Panels to Federal Universities.

ASUU also opposed the Integrated Personnel and Payroll Information System used in settling workers salaries by the Federal Governmebt and instead, developed the University Transparency and Accountability Solution which is currently undergoing test-run by the National Information Technology Development Agency.

The Senior Staff Association of Nigeria Universities and the Non-Academic Staff Union had also proposed the University General and Peculiar Personnel and Payroll System in place of the IPPIS.