ASUU strike stops exams in UI

The strike embarked on by the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) in the University of Ibadan, on Monday, paralysed academic activities and halted examinations for postgraduate students in some faculties in the institution.

The ASUU chairman in UI, Dr. Deji Omole, said the strike was total, comprehensive and indefinite, beginning from Sunday August 13, 2017, He made it known that he would brief the congress of the union on the campus today before total enforcement of the strike.

He explained that the industrial action was a fall-out of the abysmal level of implementation of the 2009 ASUU/FGN agreement, 2013 MoU and the shortfall in salaries, leading to fractional payment of staff salaries.

The national body of ASUU had last week Thursday directed all its chapters in public universities to conduct a referendum on whether to resume its suspended strike or not. In the referendum, the union asked members to decide whether to proceed on a two-week warning strike, one-month warning strike, no strike or total and indefinite strike, peraventure the Federal Government failed to satisfactorily address its concerns by Friday August 11, 2017.

Daily Sun gathered that the results of the referendum conducted in all the public universities were collated and sent to the headquarters of the union in Abuja for a final decision.

The outcome of the referendum is the ongoing strike. The academic staff in the institution reportedly voted in favour of the strike at its referendum. The notice of strike was passed to the union’s members on Monday morning.

Omole vowed that full enforcement of the strike would begin today (Tuesday) in compliance with the directives of national body of the union.

Daily Sun gathered that students in the Department of Psychology, who were to begin their examinations on Monday could not because of the strike. Also, examinations could not begin at the Faculty of the Social Sciences.Meanwhile, the Chairman of ASUU, Dr. Deji Omole, on Monday, sent a mail to the Vice Chancellor, Prof Idowu Olayinka, to officially notify him on the strike.

The mail read in part: “We therefore write to inform you that the observance of the strike will include: No teaching, no examination, no supervision, no attendance of the statutory meetings of any kind and other academic matters. In line with the national directive of the union, our members will henceforth withdraw their services till the end of the strike.”