The Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) has threatened to resume its nationwide strike if an agreement is not reached with the Federal Government at the end of its one-month ultimatum.
The ASUU, Kano Zonal Coordinator, Abdulkadir Muhammad, gave the warning during a news conference after the zone`s meeting on Monday in Kano.
The lecturers in October suspended their warning strike with a month-long ultimatum to the federal government to meet their demands, which centred on welfare and a conducive environment in the universities.
Muhammad decried what he described as a sluggish approach to renegotiating key agreements aimed at revitalising Nigeria’s public university system.
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The meeting had representatives from Ahmadu Bello University (ABU), Zaria; Bayero University, Kano (BUK); and Kaduna State University (KASU).
Others were Aliko Dangote University of Science and Technology (ADUSTECH), Wudil, Federal University Dutse (FUD), Northwest University (NWU), Kano; and Sule Lamido University (SLUK), Kafin Hausa.
The ASUU official said this followed the report presented at ASUU’s National Executive Council (NEC) meeting held on Nov. 8 and 9 at Taraba State University.
He said NEC expressed dissatisfaction with the slow pace of the ongoing renegotiation between the union and the government, describing it as a major obstacle to concluding the process meaningfully.
He noted that the suspension of the strike in October was meant to create an enabling environment and a gesture of goodwill toward Nigerians.
“However, our hope for a holistic and timely resolution of the issues is increasingly being dashed.
“Unfortunately, some government functionaries employ different tactics to undermine the renegotiation process and misinform the public on the state of our engagements,” he stated.
Mohammed lamented that the government had yet to show a genuine commitment to improving lecturers’ welfare or addressing the conditions that fuel brain drain in the university system.