By Emem Idio, Yenagoa

YENAGOA- THE Niger Delta University, NDU, Bayelsa State Chapter of the Academic Staff Union of Universities, ASUU, says its has taken a resolution to initiate the processes that will lead to the branch resuming its 2016 suspended strike following the state government lukewarm attitude to the welfare of members and funding of the state owned institution.

According to the Chairman ASUU-NDU, Prof.Tonbara Kingdom at a media briefing at the university auditorium yesterday, the decision to served the state government an industrial action notice was reached after a general congress of Union on Wednesday.

Prof Kingdom, who titled the press statement “ASUU Should Not Be Blame,” said it was disheartening that a high powered committee set up by the state governor and headed by the Secretary to the State Government, SSG, and given two weeks to ascertain the claims of labour unions in tertiary institutions in the state took sat for ten months and has since not submitted the report to the state governor.

The Union regretted that the deliberate delay in the submission of the report to the state governor as a ploy to deny the hardworking and award-winning staff of the University their hard-earned entitlements.

Prof Kingdom who was flanked by the Secretary of ASUU-NDU, Dr. Ebi Baraka and other executive members said: “At this juncture, we also want to use this medium to inform the Bayelsa State Government, the University community and the general public, that ASUU NDU has taken a resolution to initiate the processes that will lead to the branch resuming our 2016 suspended strike.

“We are tired and frustrated by the uncooperative attitude of the Bayelsa State Government towards the funding and welfare of members of staff of Niger Delta University. For the records, staff of Niger Delta University are yet to enjoy the minimum wage signed into law in April 2019 while workers of the mainstream civil service and other MDA’s including Bayelsa Medical University established yesterday, are enjoying the minimum wage, NDU is left to suffer.

“What is our offence? Promotion was not implemented in NDU between October 2015 and September 2019, neither was annual step increment implemented since October 2015 till date. We have unpaid salaries of some staff between October 2013 and December 2015. We also have unpaid study fellowships. The working conditions of staff is terrible. There are no residential quarters in the University, more than 20 years after it was established. Who did we offend?

“Worst of all, is the ill-advised and poorly implemented subvention policy.

A subvention policy that does not take into consideration annual promotions and step increments. A subvention policy that does not capture pension. Niger Delta University has the capacity to be one of the best universities in Nigeria, if not Africa. Bayelsa State Government must wake up to its responsibility. ASUU NDU is tired. ASUU should not be blamed.”

On the ASUU and federal government impasse, Prof Kingdom regretted that the federal government has failed to satisfactory address all the issues raised in the 2009 FGN-ASUU Agreement and subsequent MoUs and MoAs.