President Asuu just outlines priorities, said Union will not avoid the strike

The newly elected National Academic Staff (Asuu), Professor Christopher Piwuna, has promised to uphold the old union advocacy for university autonomy, academic freedom, and a more conducive work environment for lecturers.

Speaking during the reception held to respect its predecessor, Professor Emmanuel Osodeke, at the Michael Okpara Agricultural University, Umudike (Mouuau), Piwuna reiterated that his government would not avoid using industrial actions if necessary, expressing hopes for peace negotiations with the Federal Government.

“I will maintain a request for university autonomy, academic freedom, and the environment that is generally conducive to Asuu members,” Piwuna said. “Strike is a universal tool that cannot be expelled from the table, but it will only be applied if the government fails to respect its agreement with Asuu.”

Piwuna, a Professor of Medical and National President of Asuu, noted that union agitation was not isolated in the Nigerian context. “Our struggle is collective, it affects lecturers, students, and parents. The strike is not strange for Nigeria; they are employed throughout the world. Which says, we hope we do not need to use industrial actions before our demands are met,” he added.

During the 2023 general election campaign, Tinubu Bola President promised to end the ASUU attack which had disturbed the academic calendar for years. Since the office assumption, the Tinubu government has held several meetings with Asuu leaders in an effort to solve old problems in this sector.

Also speaking at the event, Chairman of the ASUU Mouuu Chapter, Camelarad Chike Ugwuene, praised Professor Osodeke for his leadership and dedication to improve the Nigerian education system. “He serves the nation and makes us proud of fighting tirelessly to improve education,” he said. “Even though our local union is enjoying harmony with university management, we remain committed to defending our rights if necessary.”

In his remarks, former President Asuu Osodeke told the difficulties faced during his term of office, especially under the administration of former President Muhammadu Buhari and former Minister of Manpower and Manpower, Dr. Chris Ngie. He described the relationship with Ngie as turbulent and unproductive.

“Ngie’s confrontative attitude created a lot of confusion during our legitimate struggle. But Asuu’s resilience ensured that our university did not collapse like other public institutions such as the Nigerian airways or refineries,” he said.

Osodeke associated Nigerian academic mass exodus with poor working conditions. “Many lecturers moved to the US, Europe and Saudi Arabia because of lack of poor incentives and care at home,” he explained.

He also highlighted some of the main achievements of Asuu, including progress towards the elimination of state universities from payroll and integrated personnel information systems (IPPIS) and secured an increase in pension benefits for professors.

Apart from the challenges faced by state universities, Osodeke stated that they continued to outperform private institutions in terms of quality and accessibility. “About 95 percent of students in Nigeria are still registered with public institutions,” he said, warning that further neglect could threaten this status.

The event was attended by high officials including the pro-sselling and chairman of the Mouuau Government Council, Mr. Felix Edeh, who represented the President of Bola Tinubu in his capacity as a visitor to the university, as well as former President Asuu, Professor Isa Nasir Fagee, who led the event.