May 14, (THEWILL) – The Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) has threatened a nationwide strike in response to protest the absence of governing councils in all federal universities across the country.
ASUU President, Prof. Emmanuel Osodeke, who issued the threat during a press briefing at the association national Secretariat in Abuja, on Tuesday, said the federal government has refused to appoint university governing councils since May 2023 when it dissolved the Councils.
The association criticised what it perceived as the nonchalant approach of the President Bola Tinubu-led Federal Government towards academic matters in Nigerian Federal Universities.
The union rejected the recent 35 percent salary increments for professors and 25 percent for other academics in the university system, adding that the increments are vulnerable to withdrawal by the government at its discretion.
Prof. Emmanuel Osodeke emphasised that ASUU had given ample time for the Tinubu-led government to address issues of Varsity councils. He stated that the dissolution and failure to reconstitute the Councils is illegal and contradictory to established university principles.