Members of the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU), Abubakar Tafawa Balewa University (ATBU) Bauchi Branch, held a peaceful protest on Thursday.
Urging President Bola Tinubu to intervene promptly to facilitate the signing and immediate implementation of the Prof Nimi Briggs Committee’s agreement on the renegotiation of salaries for academic staff at Federal Universities.
The ASUU members marched from their Secretariat within the Yelwa campus to the main gate, displaying placards with various messages highlighting their long-standing grievances.
Speaking to journalists after the protest, Comrade Ibrahim Inuwa, the Branch Chairperson of ASUU, ATBU, emphasized that the failure to implement the agreement has serious implications.
It has resulted in stagnant salaries for academics over the past 15 years, despite efforts to renegotiate for better wages aligned with current economic conditions.
He underscored that the demand for renegotiation is grounded in the principles of collective bargaining as outlined in International Labour Organisation (ILO) Convention No. 98.
“In 2009, the Federal Government and ASUU reached an agreement stipulating a review every three years. However, for the past 15 years, there has been no renegotiated agreement,” Inuwa explained.
He further detailed the efforts made, including the establishment of committees chaired by Wale Babalakin in 2017, Prof. Munzali Jibrin, and the late Emeritus Prof. Nimi Briggs, which produced draft agreements that were never finalized since 2021.
Inuwa expressed ASUU’s ongoing concern about the government’s neglect of the education sector’s development and the provision of quality education as mandated by the Nigerian Constitution.
“We call on all stakeholders—media, labor unions, student groups, civil society organizations, and the public—to support our efforts to reform the Nigerian university system,” Inuwa concluded.
He also emphasized ASUU’s hope to avoid further strikes, having suspended their last one in 2022 in good faith, pending government action.
, Abubakar Tafawa Balewa University (ATBU) Bauchi Branch, held a peaceful protest){kind=link}