The ASUU nationwide protests on Tuesday rocked campuses across the country, as lecturers demanded urgent action before Thursday’s Abuja meeting.
From University of Calabar to Obafemi Awolowo University, Ile-Ife, and Federal University of Technology, Akure, lecturers carried placards, chanting solidarity songs while vowing strike action if neglect continued during the ASUU nationwide protests.
Protesters pressed demands including implementation of the 2009 ASUU-FGN agreement, release of withheld salaries, and payment of promotion arrears.
They also demanded revitalisation of universities, rejection of the proposed tertiary staff loan scheme, and adoption of UTAS to safeguard autonomy.
In OAU, Chairperson Prof. Tony Odiwe lamented stagnant salaries since 2009, accusing government of delaying the Yayale Ahmed renegotiation report.
He insisted government alone would bear responsibility if industrial peace collapsed, stressing that lecturers had endured unacceptable hardship for far too long.
Also, ASUU Akure Zonal Coordinator, Prof. Adeola Egbedokun, declared patience exhausted at FUOYE, saying members taught hungry and lived indebted.
“Our members teach on empty stomachs, live in debt, and cannot afford basic needs anymore,” he declared firmly.
In Lafia, Branch Chairperson, Sunday Orinya, accused government of deceit, lamenting deaths of lecturers caused by hardship and long neglect.
In Sokoto, UDUS Chairman, Prof. Nurudeen Almustapha, described government’s loan scheme as a poisoned chalice, demanding immediate Yayale Ahmed report implementation.
At Plateau State University, National President Prof. Chris Piwuna joined protests, warning that IPPIS enforcement endangered university autonomy nationwide.
In UNICAL, Chairperson Peter Ubi accused government of destroying trust and deepening debt burdens through deliberate policies against academics.
Across campuses, lecturers warned that unless decisive action emerged Thursday, calm would collapse into the mother of all strikes.
