The University of Abuja branch of the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) has declared an indefinite strike over some unresolved issues between the management and the union.
Some of the issues include the illegal Advertorial for vacancy of the position of Vice Chancellor by the current vice chancellor of the institution and illegal recruitments without due Process.
A statement by the Chairperson of the ASUU University of Abuja chapter, Dr Sylvanus Ugoh says the decision to embark on the indefinite strike was reached after the congress of the Chapter with approval by ASUU National.
Ugoh said after following due process in line with ASUU procedures, the Trustees and Principal Officers granted the branch the permission to proceed on an indefinite, comprehensive and total strike until the issues in contention were addressed.
He said other issues include the refusal to conduct the election to the positions of Deanship into various faculties and Provost College of Health Sciences which the union insisted must be conducted within one day.
He called for the immediate inclusion of its representative to the Board of Uniabuja Micro Finance Bank as stipulated by the 8th Governing Council in its 23rd- 25th meeting held 17th August, 2017 which allotted a position of Director to the Union.
‘’Recruitments without due Process should be stopped until council is reconstituted; and the illegal employments already conducted be reviewed in line with the extant Act of the University and the recent guideline in the NUC publication of good governance and financial management of the University.
‘’Illegal Promotion exercises should be suspended and the process of the 2022/2023 exercise be reviewed by the Governing Council.
‘’By this action, all the members of ASUU University of Abuja therefore withdraw their services to the University until the issues in contention are resolved. For the avoidance of doubt there shall be no lectures in any form, no statutory meetings, no supervision of projects, no departmental or Faculty Board meetings, and no submission of results’’ Dr Ugoh stated.
However, some lecturers under the umbrella of anti-strike ASUU members, university of Abuja dissociated themselves from the strike
The group led by the Dean Student Affairs of the university; Dr Abubakar Kari said the process for the declaration of the strike was fraught with patterns strange to ASUU declaration of strike action.
Dr Kari reassured students, parents and members of the public that his members would protect the sanctity of the University of Abuja robust academic calendar and continue to work for continuous opening of the university operations.
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