ASUU asks UniAbuja to halt recruitment, promotions pending appointment of governing council

The Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) has asked the management of the University of Abuja to halt recruitment and promotions until the federal government reconstitutes governing councils.

In 2023, the National Universities Commission (NUC) dissolved the governing councils of federal universities following a presidential directive.

At the end of their congress on Thursday, members of the academic union at UniAbuja declared an indefinite strike over a lingering disagreement with the management of the university.

The dispute, TheCable reported, borders on four major issues, including ASUU’s interest in a multi-stakeholder microfinance bank, promotion procedures in the absence of a governing council, ongoing election for faculty deanship, and alleged illegal appointments.

Sylvanus Ugoh, chairman of UniAbuja ASUU, said in a communique issued after the congress that the trustees and principal officers in the union’s national leadership have permitted the branch to proceed on an indefinite strike until the demands are addressed.

Ugoh said recruitment without due process should be stopped until the governing council is reconstituted.

He said the union is demanding that illegal employment already conducted be reviewed in line with the laws of the university and NUC’s guidelines on good governance and financial management.

He added that “illegal promotion exercises” should be suspended and the process of the 2022/2023 exercise be reviewed by the governing council when it is reconstituted.

Ugoh said the union demands that an advertorial for the vacancy of the seat of vice-chancellor should be withdrawn.

He said elections for deanship of various faculties and provost of college of health sciences must be conducted within one day.

Ugoh said the union seeks the inclusion of its representative on the board of the UniAbuja Micro Finance Bank.

“All the members of ASUU University of Abuja therefore withdraw their services to the University until the issues in contention are resolved,” the communique reads.

“There shall be no lectures in any form, no statutory meetings, no supervision of projects, no departmental or Faculty Board meetings, and no submission of results.”