By Ikenna Nwokedi 

The Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU), Owerri Zone has called for the conclusion of the Renegotiation of the 2009 FGN-ASUU Agreement to aid industrial harmony across Nigeria public universities housing over 95 percent of Nigerian undergraduates.

The Union made their views known on Monday, 20th May 2024, during a Press Conference held at the ASUU Secretariat, Nnamdi Azikiwe University Awka, Anambra State with the theme, "The Unresolved Issues Among Federal and State Governments and ASUU, the Need for Urgent Action to Avert Crisis."

During the Press Briefing, the Union through the Zonal Coordinator of ASUU-Owerri Zone, Comrade Dennis Aribodor stated that the essence of the press conference was to alert the public of the Federal and State Governments' continued and consistent ploys to undermine the existence and integrity of the public universities in Nigeria through their systemic neglect, acute under funding and bastardization of university autonomy leading to the inability of Nigerian Universities to compete globally.

Emphasizing on the Renegotiation of FGN/ASUU 2009 Agreement, Aribodor informed that the non-signing of Prof. Nimi Briggs' Committee report of 2022 has left the University lecturers to remain in same salary structure for the past 15 years revealing that the current pay of a Professor at bar is about 500 US Dollars per month which is a mockery when compared with countries in West Africa.

The Union Leader also highlighted other salient points as part of the Union's struggles bordering on Funding for Revitalization of Public Universities; Withheld Salaries; Earned Academic Allowances (EAA); Integrated Personnel and Payroll Information System (IPPIS); Non-reinstatement of Illegally dissolved Govering Councils of Federal Universities and the non-reconstitution of COOU Council; ASUU Position on Core Curriculum Minimum Academic Standards (CCMAS); Promotions in IMSU and Continuous Harassment of ASUU members.

On Funding for Revitalization of Public Universities, Aribodor said, "The federal government under Goodluck Jonathan set up a committee on Needs Assessment of all Nigerian public (federal and state) universities as stepping stone towards revitalization of government-owned universities. The Committee recommended an immediate and massive injection of a total of N1.3 trillion to arrest the infrastructural decay in the institutions. That government commenced the implementation of the recommendations by releasing the first tranche of N200 billion in 2013. Unfortunately since then, only a paltry sum of N50 billion has been released till date by the government. This is unacceptable.

Commenting on the Withheld Salaries, Aribodor stated: "The ILO Conventions guarantees the right of trade unions to use strike action as a means of demanding for what is due to their members. The continuous withholding of the three and half months of withheld salaries of lecturers in federal universities and 4-12 months of some lecturers in Chukwuemeka Odumegwu Ojukwu University (COOU) as a result of ASUU national struggle for the revitalization of universities in 2020 and 2022, despite the fact that the lecturers had since completed all their duties affected during the strike is unacceptable and should be urgently addressed.

Reacting on Continuous Harassment of ASUU Members, The Zonal coordinator said, "It is disheartening to note the unending crisis bedeviling some Universities in Nigeria namely, Federal University of Technology (FUTO) Owerri, Chukwuemeka Odumegwu Ojukwu University (COOU) Igbariam, Kogi State University (KSU) Ayingba, Ebonyi State University (EBSU) Abakaliki, Ambrose Alli University (AAU) Ekpoma and others, where our members have been subjected to inhuman treatment, harassed, humiliated, salaries withheld, and sack for unjustifiable reasons. ASUU therefore calls on the Visitors and stakeholders to the affected Universities to urgently wade into the situations and reverse such injustices orchestrated by the the Vice Chancellors of the affected Universities to our members. Injury to one is injury to all!," he said.

Responding on the current state of the Earned Academic Allowances (EAA), Aribodor noted that Federal Government is yet to pay the backlog of Earned Academic Allowances (EAA) in federal universities while the Anambra and Imo State Governments have refused to pay EAA to their lecturers in COOU and Imo State University (IMSU), respectively as obtainable in state universities in other parts of the country.

The Union leader also revealed that despite the Presidential pronouncement and directive for the removal of Universities from IPPIS, the cabals in the Federal Government particularly in the Federal Ministry of Finance who are illegally benefiting from IPPIS have refused to implement the presidential directive. He also called for reinstatement of the dissolved Governing Councils of Federal Universities and that COOU has operated without Council for over two years.

Aribodor who also reacted on the pressing issues of Imo State University over the phenomenon of promotion without financial benefits since 2016, he called on the institution's administrators to ensure corresponding salary adjustments for Senior Lecturers promoted to Readers and through to Professors.

The Zonal coordinator who also made known ASUU's position on CCMAS concluded by calling on all stakeholders to play their expected roles towards averting a looming danger disclosing that ASUU's struggles are patriotic and are meant to ensure that the nation's public Universities are adequately re-positioned to deliver on their mandates by ensuring effective teaching, research and community service; thus contributing to national development.

ASUU-Owerri Branch has five Universities under it comprising of Chukwuemeka Odumegwu Ojukwu University Igbariam (COOU), Federal University of Technology Owerri (FUTO), Imo State University Owerri (IMSU), Michael Okpara University of Agriculture Umudike (MOUAU) and Nnamdi Azikiwe University Awka (UNIZIK).