Members of the Academic Staff Union of Universities, ASUU, University of Uyo Branch , ASUU-UUB, have joined their counterpart nationwide to protest government failure to sign the agreement with the union over the past two years.
In their respective remarks, the members expressed the Union’s readiness to embark on another strike soon if nothing was done to honour their agreement with the federal government.
Addressing the protesters the Chairperson of ASUU-UNIUYO, Professor Opeyemi Olajide regretted that two years after they were appealed to return to the classrooms, the federal government was yet to attend to their demands.
According to him, “In the year 2022, ASUU was on strike for eight months, public universities in Nigeria were shut down, students were sent home because federal government of Nigeria refused to address ASUU demands as contained in renegotiated 2009 agreement which Academic Staff Unions of Nigerian Universities had with them.
“ASUU suspended the strike because our union is very civil, law abiding and has respect for rule of law. This is two years after, and the federal government has refused to sign that agreement with our union.
“We are telling government and the public that if in the next two weeks nothing is done, ASUU is going to embark on yet another strike and students will be sent home”, he said.
On his part, the former Zonal Cordinator of ASUU, Calabar zone, Aniekan Brown lamented the rate of taxation by the Federal Government on the meagre salaries paid to lecturers, saying it is unbearable
