By EMMANUEL ANTSWEN

The Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU), Rev Fr Moses Orshio Adasu University Makurdi (MOAUM) chapter, has commenced an indefinite strike action over unresolved welfare and governance issues affecting staff and the institution.

The union announced the decision in a statement issued on Monday in Makurdi and signed by its chairman, Dr Sule Ako, and secretary, Prof. Daniel Chile.

According to the union officials, the decision was reached by the union’s congress after years of engagement with the university administration, governing council and Benue government failed to yield lasting solutions.

ASUU-MOAUM identified non-payment of pensions and gratuities to retired staff, absence of an effective health insurance scheme, irregular pension remittances and unpaid promotion arrears as some of the major grievances for their action.

They stated that many retired staff members had remained unpaid for years after retirement, with some dying without receiving their entitlements.

The officials expressed concern over what they described as the failure of the government to consistently provide counterpart funding for the contributory pension scheme introduced in 2020.

They added that academic staff promoted since 2018 had largely been denied the financial benefits attached to their promotions despite repeated appeals to management and government.

The duo also cited the non-payment of about 22 months of the 25 per cent and 35 per cent wage award arrears, noting that only five months were recently paid after the union initiated moves toward industrial action.

They argued that the payment was inadequate and did not address the broader concerns of staff.

The officials accused the authorities of incomplete implementation of the Consequential Adjustment to Academic Salaries (CATA), unresolved taxation issues and failure to provide a clear framework for the payment of outstanding arrears.

“ASUU-MOAUM condemned the rejection of the Senate-nominated candidate for Deputy Vice-Chancellor (Academic), Prof. Ebute Agaba, without any stated reason.

“The decision and the subsequent conduct of another election undermined due process, university autonomy and democratic governance within the institution.

“Before declaring the strike, the branch, its zonal leadership and the National Executive Council (NEC) made several interventions aimed at resolving the issues amicably.

“ASUU NEC, at its meeting in Yola, reviewed the branch’s grievances, found merit in them and initiated a fact-finding and intervention process, including a visit to the university.

“However, the state government, university administration and other relevant authorities failed to engage it through a formal Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) or Memorandum of Action (MoA) containing clear commitments and implementation timelines,” they said.

The officials maintained that isolated payments made by the university administration were not negotiated and failed to provide a credible roadmap for resolving the disputes.

The duo emphasised that the welfare of staff, the integrity of university governance and the future of the institution could no longer be subjected to unfulfilled promises.

“The strike would remain in force until substantial progress was made and binding agreements reached on the issues in dispute,” they stressed.

(NAN)

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