There are no current strikes by lecturers, according to Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) president Emmanuel Osodeke.
Following a decision in favour of the federal government’s “no work, no pay” policy, the rumours have been circulating.
According to Reports, the academic calendars of Nigeria’s public institutions have been repeatedly disrupted over the years as academics on strike have protested financial shortfalls, subpar working conditions, and infrastructure deterioration.
In 2022, ASUU began its 16th strike in 23 years. Eight months passed during the strike.
ASUU’s strike was put on hold by the National Industrial Court (NIC) in September 2022 while a lawsuit was being heard.
Due to its ‘no work, no pay’ policy, the federal government insisted that the lecturers would not be compensated for the time they were on strike.
The court affirmed the government’s position on the subject on May 30.
On August 19, during a National Executive Council (NEC) meeting at the University of Maiduguri, ASUU discussed the matter again.
The ‘no work, no pay’ principle, according to Osodeke, disregarded the reality that just the teaching portion of academic activity was suspended during the strike.
There have been rumours going around that the union is considering a new strike in response to the industrial court’s decision.
In his response, Osodeke called the reports “malicious and unfortunate”.
Promotion arrears was one of the topics discussed during the Borno NEC meeting of ASUU.
The forced enrolment of academics into the Integrated Payroll and Personnel Information System (IPPIS) was blamed by the union for distortions in promotion arrears.
The IPPIS job racketeering incident, according to Osodeke, has “eroded the tradition of university employment.”
According to him, ASUU was informed of the widespread academic exodus from public universities as a result of unfavourable working conditions.
