The Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) at Niger Delta University (NDU) has decided to go on strike. The decision, announced by the ASUU chapter’s chairman, Comrade Oyinkepreye Lucky Bebeteidoh, was driven by the Bayelsa State Government’s refusal to address several requests for a meeting with the institution’s visitor, Governor Douye Diri. These requests aimed to discuss pressing challenges affecting both the university and its staff.
Speaking at the ASUU secretariat on the NDU campus at Wilberforce Island in Ammassoma, Bebeteidoh revealed that the union’s Congress had resolved to begin the process of resuming its previously suspended industrial action. The decision takes immediate effect. ASUU’s grievances with the Bayelsa State Government include demands for the implementation of 35% and 25% salary increments for its members, along with payment of the arrears dating back to January 2023. Additionally, ASUU is calling for the immediate implementation of the N70,000 minimum wage for its members, as well as an annual step increment and payment of arrears from 2018.
Bebeteidoh highlighted several other demands, including the provision of on-campus residential accommodations for staff to reduce the burden and risks associated with commuting daily from Yenagoa. He also emphasized the need for the annual review of the university’s monthly subvention, as stipulated in a Memorandum of Agreement (MoA) signed on September 1, 2022. The union is also pushing for the employment of more academic staff, particularly those below the rank of senior lecturer, to address the academic manpower gap in many departments and to meet the accreditation needs of the university.
The ASUU chairman criticized the current administration for not undertaking any projects in the university since coming to power, describing the university as being heavily reliant on TETFund and other federal interventions for both physical and human infrastructural development. He expressed concern that efforts are underway to distribute TETFund resources among all universities in the state, contrary to TETFund guidelines, which specify funding for only two universities alternately.
Comrade Bebeteidoh stated that the strike action would commence immediately following ratification by ASUU’s national leadership. “We have been hesitant to resume our suspended strike action,” he said. “However, it has become abundantly clear that industrial action is the only language successive governments respond to.”
