The Academic Staff Union of Universities has accused the Federal Government of insincerity in its approach to collective bargaining and the welfare of academic staff in public universities.
The union lamented that the government had not shown genuine regard for tertiary education judging by the way it handles the welfare and conditions of service of intellectuals in public institutions.
It, however, vowed not to abandon its struggle for decent working conditions and improved funding for the revitalisation of public universities in the interest of the children of the masses.
ASUU Chairman, University of Ibadan chapter, Dr Adefemi Afolabi, stated this while featuring on Situation Room, a radio programme in Ibadan, the Oyo State capital.
According to reports that ASUU, on Monday, began a two-week warning strike to protest the Federal Government’s failure to sign the renegotiated draft agreement reached by the Yayale Ahmed-led committee, which concluded its sittings over eight months ago.
Afolabi said the Federal Government had taken ASUU for granted for too long, noting that the union was forced into the warning strike due to what he described as government’s “delay tactics” and disregard for the principles of collective bargaining.
According to him, the union waited patiently for eight months and even organised protests to sensitise Nigerians on the need for the government to sign the renegotiated agreement.
However, the government, he said, came back with a new committee to restart the entire process.
He decried the growing wave of resignations among high-profile professors in public universities, saying many were leaving the country in search of better opportunities abroad.
Afolabi lamented that lecturers were working under poor conditions, with many struggling to cope with the rising cost of living.
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