The Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU), has began a nationwide indefinite strike, reports say.
The ASUU National President, Dr Isa Fagge, told journalists of the development at a news conference via telephone at the University of Lagos.
He said that the decision to have the strike was reached at the National Executive Committee (NEC) meeting of ASUU held at the Olabisi Onabanjo University Ago Iwoye, on Monday.
Fagge told newsmen that the strike, which took immediate effect, was “comprehensive, total and indefinite’’.
He said that the action was as a result of the inability of the Federal Government to implement some of the issues contained in a 2009 agreement it had with ASUU.
The unionist said that the government had also reneged on the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) it entered into with the union in December 2011.
“Before now, there has been this issue of the implementation of the key issues contained in the 2009 agreement we entered into with the Federal Government.
“We have had several meetings and deliberations to let government understand why these issues must be resolved but it is like the more we meet and deliberate, the messier the issue gets.
“One of the issues that needed to be addressed was basically that of the Academic earned allowance.
“But as we speak, there has nothing to show that government was committed to an MOU it also willingly wrote to better the university sector.
“It is in this regard that we are embarking on an indefinite strike,” he said.
Fagge said that having waited patiently for the government to swing into action to no avail, the NEC of the union decided to meet, deliberate and come up with the action.
The Chairman of the University of Lagos chapter of the union, Dr Karo Oghenekaro, told newsmen that government’s penchant for reneging on agreements was not acceptable.
He said that government entered into the MOU with ASUU after the union suspended its strike two and a half years ago.
Oghenekaro explained that the government had made essential laws on some of the burning issues such as the 70 years retirement age of lecturers as well as the pension commission.
According to him, government, however, is not forthcoming with other pressing demands such as the earned allowance.
He noted that the academic earned allowance was expected to take care of excess work load carried out by the lecturers such as examination officers, deans and supervision of post graduate, masters and other programmes.
“I want to say that not all lecturers are entitled to this allowance, but as we speak, not a single lecturer under the aforementioned categories has received any such allowance.
“What we are demanding as the earned allowance is not more than N12, 500 per person, yet government is saying it cannot afford such.
According to him, the Nigerian tertiary education sector is where it is because of inadequate funding.
He said that one of the reasons why there were no foreign scholars in the system was because of the poor wages.