From Adanna Nnamani, Abuja

The Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) has extended its warning strike for another two months.

ASUU took the decision to continue the strike during a marathon National Executive Council (NEC) meeting held at the University of Abuja over the weekend.

The union made this known in a statement issued by its President, Emmanuel Osodeke on Monday.

According to Osodeke, extension of the strike action was necessary to give the Government more time to address all the union’s demands in concrete terms

He said ASUU leadership was disappointed in the nonchalant and mindless manner with which the federal government handled it demands during the last four weeks that the warning strike action lasted as the Government did not treat the matters involved with the utmost urgency deserved.

The statement read in parts, ”

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“The meeting was called to review developments since the Union declared a four weeks total and comprehensive roll-over strike action at the end of its NEC meeting at the University of Lagos, Akoka, Lagos on 12th-13th February, 2022. The strike action came on the heels of Government’s failure to satisfactorily implement the Memorandum of Action (MOA) it signed with the Union in December 2020 on funding for revitalization of public universities (both Federal and States), renegotiation of the 2009 FGN/ ASUU Agreement, deployment of the University Transparency and Accountability Solution (UTAS), Earned Academic Allowances, State Universities, promotion arrears, withheld salaries, and non-remittance of third-party deductions.

“NEC noted that the Union’s leadership has held some interactive meetings with agents of government in the last four weeks that the strike action had lasted. However, NEC was disappointed that the Government did not treat the matters involved with the utmost urgency they deserved during the four-week period as expected of a reasonable, responsive, and well-meaning administration.

“NEC viewed the Government’s response, so far, as a continuation of the unconscionable, mindless, and nonchalant attitude of the Nigerian ruling elite towards the proven path of national development which is education.

“NEC acknowledged the intervention efforts, in various ways, by patriots and friends of genuine national development (students, parents, journalists, trade union leaders, civil society activists etc.) to expeditiously resolve the crisis which-Government’s disposition had allowed to fester. However, ASUU, as a union of intellectuals, has historic obligations to make governments honour agreement.

“NEC, having taken reports on the engagements of the Trustees and Principal Officers with the Government, concluded that Government had failed to satisfactorily address all the issues raised in the 2020 FGN/ASUU Memorandum of Action (MOA) within the four-week roll-over strike period and resolved that the strike be rolled over for another eight (8) weeks to give Government more time to address all the issues in concrete terms so that our students will resume as soon as possible. The roll-over strike shall commence by 12.01am on Monday, 14th March, 2022.”