Why we gave FG 21-day strike ultimatum —ASUP President

THE President of the Academic Staff Union of Polytechnics (ASUP), Comrade Shammah Kpanja, has reiterated the union’s long-standing grievances against the Federal Government, warning that the failure to resolve them within the next 21 days would trigger a nationwide strike across public polytechnics and monotechnics.

Speaking in Abuja following the union’s statement after an emergency meeting, Kpanja accused the government of insincerity and deliberate neglect of promises made to the union. He explained that the ultimatum became necessary because issues that directly affect staff welfare and the credibility of polytechnic education have remained unresolved for years, despite repeated assurances.

Central to the union’s frustration, he noted, is the continued decision of the National Board for Technical Education (NBTE) to outsource the accreditation process of polytechnics, a move he said compromises the integrity of the system.

According to him, investigations revealed that some of the firms contracted for accreditation were not even educational entities but were registered with the Corporate Affairs Commission as farming, business, or medical enterprises. Our Union had raised concerns against the FME approved policy of outsourcing quality assurance activities in Nigeria’s Polytechnics pointing to ethical, economic, convention and moral defects in the policy, he said.

The ASUP president also revisited the lingering issue of the Peculiar Academic Allowance, a key component of the ASUP/FGN 2010 agreement, accusing the National Salaries, Incomes and Wages Commission of deliberately withholding the circular that would effect its payment. He lamented that instead of making provisions for the allowance, the Federal Ministry of Education has allowed it to be removed from the national budgeting framework.

On the discrimination against Higher National Diploma (HND) holders, Kpanja faulted the government for failing to implement the dual mandate structure designed to end the bias. The continued delay and non approval of a dual mandate structure aimed at eliminating the agelong discrimination against HND holders has continued to facilitate discrimination against polytechnic education and her products, he declared, stressing that the government’s inaction amounted to encouraging the unfair treatment.

He further expressed anger over the government’s failure to pay the arrears of the 25/35 percent salary review approved since 2023, pointing out that although the payment was captured in the budget, nothing has been released. This, he explained, has worsened the hardship of members who are already struggling under the weight of the country’s economic crisis. He added that the situation is even more troubling in state-owned polytechnics where many state governments are yet to fully implement the N70,000 national minimum wage.

According to him, government’s indifference is also reflected in its refusal to release the second round of the approved NEEDS Assessment intervention and in the failure of the Ministry of Education to reconvene the committee mandated to review the utilisation of the first round. The union, he added, is also concerned that no step has been taken to actualize the sectoral roadmap of the ministry which approved the establishment of a dedicated commission for the regulation of the tertiary education component of technical and vocational education and training in the country.

Kpanja reminded the government that other unresolved issues, including promotion arrears in some institutions dating back to 2019, the stalled renegotiation of the ASUP/FGN 2010 agreement, and the pending CONTISS 15 arrears, have further deepened the frustration of polytechnic workers. He warned that the continued lack of political will to address these matters was pushing the system to a breaking point.

In view of the items listed above and the noncommittal disposition of the FME in committing to genuine dialogue and lack of will to execute previous resolutions on some of the items, our Unions NEC has resolved to issue a 21-day ultimatum to the Government to address the issues satisfactorily. A failure to utilize this window may lead to the declaration of a trade dispute and withdrawal of services of our members across public polytechnics and monotechnics nationwide, he stated.

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