mikkywebs:
The Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) Imo State University Owerri chapter has dismissed the announcement made over the radio and newspaper on behalf of the management by the university’s Public Relations Officer, Raph Njoku-Obi, ordering staff and students back to campus to begin academic activities with effect from September 20.

Reacting to the announcement, the union Chairman in the university, Comrade Odinakachukwu Ejiogu in a press release on September 20, said that the ongoing strike is part of a national struggle for the survival of public universities in Nigeria and the welfare of their members, that ASUU-IMSU is not on 'sympathy strike' with the national body, but is part of the national struggle because they have concrete stake in the issue that are in contention.

Comrade Ejiogu said that the conditions of service as academic staff of public universities in Nigeria, were centrally agreed on and it anchored on the universal nature of the university where an academic or a professor in a state university is not different from an academic or a professor in a federal university.

"The Treasury Single Account (TSA) operational in Imo State is equivalent to the Integrated Personnel Payroll and Information System (IPPIS). As we demand the deployment of University Transparency and Accountability Solution (UTAS) in place of the discredited IPPIS, we also request that IMSU be pulled out of the TSA in Imo State", he said.

Comrade Ejiogu identified some of the local problems the union is currently facing in IMSU which the branch was mobilizing for a local strike action before the commencement of the national strike. They include, non-payment of the February 2020 staff salary, non remittance of pension deductions from May 2016 to December 2020, non-payment of some members' salaries in line with their recent promotions (2016 and 2017), undue delays in staff assessment and promotions since 2018 to present, among others. "ASUU is still on strike until the issues in contention are addressed by the government".

The ASUU-IMSU chapter threatened a local strike action by members after the national strike ends, if the IMSU management and the visitor to the university fail to address the numerous local issues before them.

CREDIT - https://theleaderap..com/2022/09/ASUU-strike-no-sir-were-not-resuming.html