The Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) has raised concerns over the deaths of 84 of its members within three months, citing economic hardship and unpaid salaries as key factors just as it issued a 14-day ultimatum to the Federal Government on September 25, 2024, demanding the resolution of several issues, including the renegotiation of the 2009 FGN/ASUU Agreement and the payment of withheld salaries from the 2022 strike.
The ASUU President, Emmanuel Osodeke, revealed this during an interview on Inside Sources with Laolu Akande, aired on Channels TV.
He said, “In the past three months, from May to August (2024), Nigerian universities lost 84 academics to death. In three months, because of what our people are going through,”.
“Despite this crisis, you are holding somebody’s three-and-half or more salaries on the no-work, no-pay, you are owing this money.
“People are trying to survive, you introduced fuel increase, you introduced electricity increase, and everything is gone now.”
On September 25, 2024, ASUU issued a 14-day ultimatum to the Federal Government, demanding the resolution of several issues, including the renegotiation of the 2009 FGN/ASUU Agreement and the payment of withheld salaries from the 2022 strike.
In 2022, both academic and non-academic unions embarked on an eight-month strike, after which the government implemented a no-work, no-pay policy. President Bola Tinubu later approved the release of four months’ salaries in October 2023, but ASUU insists that the entire eight months’ withheld salaries must be paid.
ASUU members received four months of their owed wages, while other unions, such as SSANU and NASU, have yet to be paid. The government is considering a half-pay solution for non-academic unions, according to education minister, Tahir Mamman.
Osodeke argued that paying only four months is not a favour, stating that lecturers deserve full payment for the entire strike period.
As the 14-day ultimatum draws closer there is hope that the government will respond positively to prevent the closure of our academic institutions at such a time like this when the country is groaning under a lot of undue burdens.