ASUU, students protest unmet demands in Lagos

Members of the Academic Staff Union of Universities, University of Lagos, and students on Thursday protested against the nine unresolved demands of the union by the Federal Government.

The students who came out to support their lecturers displayed placards with inscriptions including “education is life; proper funding of university education is non-negotiable; lecturers too want an earthly reward for teaching all professions; stop establishing universities you cannot fund.

They marched from the Julius Berger Hall on the campus to the UNILAG gate and back to the ASUU-UNILAG Secretariat.

The protesting lecturers and students sang solidarity songs as they distributed handbills listing their nine demands, which included the conclusion of the renegotiation of the FGN/ASUU agreement; Agreement based on Nimi Briggs Committee’s draft Agreement of 2021; release of withheld three-and-half months salaries on account of the 2022 strike action; release of unpaid salaries of staff on sabbatical, part-time, and adjunct appointments owing to the application of the Integrated Payroll and Personnel Information System; release of outstanding third-party deductions such as check-off dues and cooperative contributions; Funding for revitalisation of public universities (partly captured in 2023 Federal Government’s Budget).

Others are Earned Academic Allowances (partly captured in the 2023 Federal Government’s Budget); proliferation of universities by Federal and State Governments; implementation of the reports of visitation panels to universities, and University Transparency and Accountability Solutions (in place of IPPIS).

Chairman ASUU-UNILAG, Prof. Kayode Adebayo, explained that the protest was to sensitise the general public about the insensitivity and silence of the government on the Union’s demands.

Details later…