Nigerian universities may once more be closed as the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) has hinted that it may go on strike again this year if the Federal Government does not agree to its demands.
ASUU President Emmanuel Osodeke made this revelation during an interview with The ICIR on January 19, 2023.
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The union president claimed that the government had not yet addressed the problems that caused earlier, eight-month-long industrial actions.
On February 14, 2022, ASUU began taking industrial action because the government had refused to abide by the 2009 agreement it had made with the lecturers as well as other union demands.
The union ended its strike on October 14 as a result of a ruling in favor of the government by the Appeal Court on September 21, 2022, ordering ASUU to return to work and upholding a similar injunction earlier issued by the National Industrial Court of Nigeria.
The government vowed it would not pay ASUU, unlike in the past when striking workers were compensated for the time they were off the job.
ASUU members received a half-month salary at the end of October, two weeks after they started working again; the government referred to this payment as "pro-rata.". '.
Since then, the union has demanded that the government pay the backpay owed to its members.
When asked about the likelihood of another industrial strike during the interview, Osodeke responded, "It is not possible in this country unless we have a set of leaders that will be elected, who will be human beings and think about the system. ".
He claimed that ASUU members persisted in their work because they desired the best outcome for the country.
Although the union's eight-month strike was suspended in 2022, the union leader emphasized that his group was still waiting for the government to keep its promises.