ATBU ASUU Joins Two-week Warning Strike

Segun Awofadeji in Bauchi

The Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU), Abubakar Tafawa Balewa University (ATBU), Bauchi Chapter, has joined the two weeks warning strike called by ASUU’s National Secretariat to press the federal government to implement its 2019 agreement and resolution.
The warning strike commenced on Monday, March 9.

The union has been at loggerheads with the government since last year over the introduction of the Integrated Personnel Payroll Information System (IPPIS), which was meant to ensure transparency in salary payment.

The Chairman of ATBU’S ASUU Chapter, Dr. Adamu Babayo, in an interview with newsmen yesterday said that after the National Executive Council meeting, which was held at the Enugu State University on Monday, the union held its congress on Tuesday and resolved to join the strike.

Babayo said: “Yes, we have joined the strike. We are in full compliance with the resolutions of the NEC. We invited our members for a congress on Tuesday. And the congress resolved to join the two weeks warning strike. This (Wednesday) morning, we inaugurated a monitoring team and it has started working on the campuses to ensure strict compliance by our members.

“Our members are fully agitated even from the mobilisation we did in January. Our members are seriously agitated over the issues and we have maximum support because ATBU is a strong branch when it comes to struggle in the union. So, our members have complied and are fully motivated for that action.”
He said that no activities are going on in the school and even the Post Graduate Examinations that were going on had to be stopped because of the industrial action.

The chairman also said that the monitoring team was very vigilant and that disciplinary action would be taken on erring members.
He accused the federal government of not being sensitive to the memorandum of action it signed with the union in February to fund the Nigerian universities, talk to state governors on proliferation of state universities and mainstream their academic allowance.

“The also promised that our renegotiation will be concluded but six weeks after meeting with the President, they are not serious about it. The federal government is not sincere in trying to deal with the matter. Ordinarily, we would have gone on an indefinite strike because we only suspended the previous strike.

“You see, they are yet to pay us our February salaries. They have refused to pay us even though we have worked.
“We are not even talking about our salary that they withheld, we are talking about the agreement they signed with us which they are not respecting.”