By Our Reporter, with Agency reports
THE UNIVERSITY of Abuja (UNIABUJA) chapter of the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) on Thursday announced the commencement of an indefinite strike over the process of the appointment of a new Vice Chancellor (VC) for the institution, among other issues.
The tenure of the incumbent VC, Prof. Abdul-Rasheed Na’Allah, is set to end in June, but ASUU is alleging that there are clandestine moves by the federal government to impose a VC on the school without due process.
It insists that the choice of the succeeding VC must be in line with the Universities Miscellaneous Provisions Act 1993 (as amended).
According to the resolutions of the congress held on Thursday, 2nd May 2024 at the Faculty of Agriculture Lecture Theatre at the Main Campus of UNIABUJA, the union resolved “to embark on a total, comprehensive and indefinite strike as approved by ASUU National.”
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The union said the position of the vice chancellor, advertised in a national newspaper on March 15, 2024, was illegal, given that the school’s Governing Council, which is responsible for such a role, was side-lined.
The union is therefore demanding that the advertorial for vacancy of the position of Vice Chancellor should be withdrawn.
Other demands include the election of deans for the various faculties as well as provost, College of Health Sciences, and the immediate inclusion of ASUU’s 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.
Other demands include the stoppage of ongoing recruitment being done without due process until the reconstitution of the Governing Council; and the review of what it described as “illegal employments already conducted” 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; and finally, the suspension of “Illegal promotion exercises” and review of the “2022/2023 exercise 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,” the union stressed at the end of the resolutions signed by Sylvanus Ugoh and Monday M. Onakpa; chairperson and secretary respectively of ASUU chapter of UNIABUJA.
A faction dissociates self from strike
Meanwhile, a faction which described itself as “Anti-Strike ASUU Members”, later sprang up, dissociating itself from the strike action called by ASUU.
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The faction, at a press conference shortly after the declaration of the strike by the chapter, said it would not join the strike.
Dr Abubakar Kari, the Dean of Students Affairs and former Convener, ASUU National Political Committee, said the strike was to satisfy personal interest, not the larger interest of ASUU members and the university.
According to him, “Members of ASUU here standing for several other members with like minds but unavoidably absent, rise to reassure students, parents and members of the public that we will protect the sanctity of the University’s robust academic calendar.
“We will continue to work for continuous opening of the university operations. We vehemently demand that ASUU must work for ASUU and not a hidden cabal out to take the university of Abuja back to the inglorious yesteryears.
“A decision to go on an indefinite strike without, at any point, seeking members of ASUU’s vote for, or against is absolutely not the ASUU procedure for calling strike. So, the so-called strike remains unrepresentative of the larger members of ASUU and cannot stand”.
Speaking on the alleged advertorial for the soon-to-be vacant position of the VC, Kari said, so far, five federal universities had advertised for the position of VCs.
“The question begging the mind of everyone, staffers and the public, is why would ASUU, university of Abuja alone proceed on indefinite strike while University of Maiduguri, Usman Dan Fodiyo University, Sokoto, ATBU Bauchi and others sustain the sanctity of stable academic calendar on their campuses?
“We say, No, to strike over issues that are not peculiar to the University of Abuja,” he said. (NAN)
