Members of the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) Adekunle Ajasin University, Akungba-Akoko Branch on Tuesday, 2nd of July, 2024, staged a peaceful demonstration against the insensitivity of the Federal Government towards their demand since 2009.
The protest which took place on the University campus saw them carrying different placards with messages such as “Our take home can not take us home”, “On 2009 FGN-ASUU agreement we stand”, “Pay our EAA” and so on and so forth.
While addressing the protesters, the chairman of the Union, Comrade Boluwaji Oshodi narrated how University lecturers in Nigeria have been on the same pay since 2003 while the agreement clearly states that the salary would be reviewed every three years.
He lamented the sorry state of many universities in the country. According to him, virtually all Nigerian public Universities lack the necessary equipment needed in their laboratories, lecturers and the students need to improvise most of the time to conduct vital experiments and this is affecting the output.
Comrade Boluwaji Oshodi reveals that buildings in many Universities are in a sorry state, in some cases students receive lectures while lapping one another which is not conducive for both the lecturers and the students.
“Also, some state universities have no Governing Council which is against the University establishment act. A good example is Ambrose Alli University, Ekpoma (AAUE) where the Visitor to the University replaced the Governing Council with SIT (Special Intervention Team), a concept that is alien to the University system.
“Furthermore, the Chairperson raised the issue of IPPIS which he said is still being used to pay the salaries of lecturers in federal Universities after the Federal Executive Council (FEC) had announced that all tertiary institutions in the country should be removed from the platform.
“There is also the non-release of third party deductions and arrears of EAA which the government has failed to address.”
To avert the impending action by the Union, according to Comrade Boluwaji Oshodi, there is the need for the government to sign the 2009 FGN-ASUU agreement which was willingly entered into by the government as this captured what is needed to turn around the University system in Nigeria.
Earlier in the day, the Union met with the leadership of market women, artisans and that of the NURTW. There was also a meeting of the Union with the student body of Adekunle Ajasin University, Akungba-Akoko to sensitize them on the plan of the union to take action to press home its demands from the government.
He told them at the meeting that the action of the union is not targeted at themrather, it is meant to assist them in improving their general welfare on campus.
He concluded that if the issues raised by the Union is not immediately and adequately addressed, the government should be blamed for any disruption of academic activities in public Universities.
