This was made known by the union’s national president, Prof Emmanuel Osodeke, in an interview with SaharaReporters on Friday morning.
There is the likelihood of another industrial action in Nigerian universities as lecturers under the aegis of the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU), are set to hold an emergency meeting following the decision of President Muhammadu Buhari’s administration to pay the lecturers half salaries for October 2022.
This was made known by the union’s national president, Prof Emmanuel Osodeke, in an interview with SaharaReporters on Friday morning.
On Thursday, SaharaReporters reported how members of the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) received alerts for 18 working days in the month of October.
ASUU called off its eight months’ strike on October 14, 2022, and lecturers were encouraged to resume work by the union on the same day.
A senior member of the ASUU National Executive Council was quoted saying, “We were only paid for the days after the strike. I received a half salary. Other members are angry right now, they are blaming the NEC for calling off the strike.”
Another member, who confirmed the development, said, “Yes, it is true, I received half salary. It seems the government is set to kill unionism in the country but we are ready for them.”
When asked how ASUU would react to the development, Osodeke told SaharaReporters that their decision would be revealed after their National Executive Council’s meeting.
“When we meet, you will know our decision on it,” Mr Osodoke told SaharaReporters.
He further added that details of the meeting would soon be disclosed in a circular.
SaharaReporters in September reported how the presidential candidate of the African Action Congress (AAC) faulted the ruling of the National Industrial Court ordering the striking members of ASUU to call off their ongoing strike and resume work.
The Nigerian government had filed a suit before the industrial court against ASUU, and in a judgment on the Nigerian government's interlocutory injunction, Justice Polycarp Hamman stopped ASUU from continuing with the strike until the case was resolved.
Reacting to the court order, Sowore questioned the rationality behind the order asking ASUU to go back to work on an empty stomach, as the government had insisted on a “No Work, No Pay” policy.
The human rights activist on his Twitter page had written, “How could a judge order ASUU to go back to work on empty stomach?”
Also, Sowore asked the Nigerian government to end the strike by honouring its agreement with the university lecturers’ union.