Academic activities were temporarily disrupted on Tuesday at the University of Benin’s Ugbowo and Ekheuan campuses as members of the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) joined a nationwide protest over the non-implementation of the 2009 agreement with the Federal Government.
The protest, which lasted for several hours, saw lecturers and other academic staff march from the ASUU hall on the Ugbowo campus to the office of the Vice Chancellor. Armed with placards and chanting solidarity songs, the protesters called on the government to honour the renegotiated 2009 agreement, which they said has been ignored for 16 years.
Chairman of ASUU, UNIBEN chapter, Dr. Ray Chikogu, described the situation as unacceptable. According to him, the agreement signed in 2009 was supposed to be reviewed every three years, but to date, no review has been carried out.
“In 2009, we entered into an agreement with the Federal Government and agreed it would be reviewed every three years. Sixteen years later, that agreement has never been reviewed. Lecturers have been on the same salary for 16 years. Nowhere else in the world are academics treated with such disregard,” Chikogu said.
He added that the poor funding of education in Nigeria remains a major concern, warning that the union would not hesitate to shut down universities nationwide if their demands are not met.
Receiving the protesters at the Vice Chancellor’s office, Deputy Vice Chancellor (Academics), Prof. Victor Igbineweka, and Registrar, Ademola Bobola, assured the lecturers that their grievances would be forwarded to the Federal Government.
Bobola noted that no one wants ASUU to embark on another strike, stressing that the current administration appeared committed to repositioning education.
The one-day protest was part of a coordinated action across universities in the country, as ASUU continues to push for better welfare, improved funding for tertiary institutions, and the full implementation of agreements reached with government.
