Lecturers in Nigerian public universities under the aegis of the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) on Monday declared a total and indefinite strike.

“Of all the items contained in the MoU, only the N200b out of the total N1.3tr of the Public Universities Revitalisation (Need Assessment) Fund was released.

“The union also embarked on a one week warning strike in November 2016 to press for the implementation of the 2013 MoU. However, government did not implement the understanding reached between the Union and Federal Government based on the intervention of the leadership of the Senate of the Federal Republic of Nigeria.

“The National Executive Council, NEC, of ASUU then met at the University of Abuja on August 12, 2017 to consider the result of a referendum from all branches in a bid to ascertain ways of convincing the government to implement outstanding aspects of 2009 and the MoU of 2013,” the statement read in part.

The Union also listed some of the issues in the MoU which have been left unattended by the Federal Government to include: non-payment of earned academic allowances, payment of fractions/non-payment of salaries, non-release of operational license of the Nigerian University Pension Management Committee (NUPEMCO), non-implementation of the provisions of the 2014 Pensions Reforms Act with respect to retired professors and their salaries, the removal of university staff schools from government funding as well as the non-release of funds for the revitalisation of public schools.