Korede Abdullah 
ONDO, Nigeria – The University of Medical Sciences, Ondo chapter of the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU-UNIMEDO) has rejected a deal reached between the Ondo State Government and ASUU at Adekunle Ajasin University, Akungba-Akoko, saying it does not address its demands and its members will remain on strike.
ASUU-UNIMEDO Chairman, Abraham Oladebeye, said the chapter was excluded from the negotiations that produced the agreement and therefore could not be bound by its terms.
Speaking in Akure on Monday, Oladebeye said the agreement also failed to address the resolutions reached by the union’s congress at the University of Medical Sciences. “Firstly, when they had the meeting, we were not invited. Secondly, the meeting birthed the letter, so a meeting we were not invited to can’t bind on us. Thirdly, the letter did not address our terms of resolutions in UNIMED,” he said.
Oladebeye said an earlier general meeting involving the affected unions had ended with verbal assurances and a request for university managements to submit documents detailing the financial implications of implementing the agreements.
He said the government subsequently invited ASUU-AAUA to a separate meeting, while ASUU-UNIMEDO and ASUU chapters in other state-owned universities were left out.
According to him, the government proposed to begin implementation from August and settle salary arrears from January to July in two installments before January next year.
Meanwhile, ASUU-AAUA Chairman, Prof Bolu Oshodi, said the state government had provided financial intervention towards resolving the dispute. “The government of Ondo State has intervened financially, and a congress to direct all our members to resume academic activities has been scheduled,” Oshodi said.
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