The Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) yesterday vowed not to go back to the classroom until its demands were fully met by the federal government.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) also reported from Lagos that ASUU began a nationwide indefinite strike midnight on Sunday.
The President of ASUU, Prof Ukachukwu Awuzie, told NAN in a telephone interview from his Abuja base that there was “no going back until government showed some level of commitment to implementing the agreement.
“Government had assured that they would look into the issue in November and we were all hopeful that they would do something, having signed the Memorandum of Understanding, MoU.
“We are surprised that they still could not live up to their promise yet again, maybe they are just playing games with us.
“As a result of this, I had to meet with the National Executive Committee (NEC) of the union, which then decided to embark on this strike”.
He expressed regret at the development and said that what the union was fighting for was to ensure the repositioning of the education system, which would translate into meaningful contribution to national development.
“We are still open to discussion, but this time, we would insist that the approach to such discussions be frankness and sincerity of purpose,’’ he said.
NAN reported that ASUU entered into an agreement with the government in 2009, seeking to revamp the education system, provision of funds for research and development, and university autonomy, among others.
The Union had on September 26 this year signed an MoU with the federal government, after a two-week warning strike on the same issue.
Government was said to have assured the lecturers, during the signing of the MoU, that it would look into their grievances within two months and come up with positive results by the November 28.