Academic Staff Union of Universities, has vowed to go ahead with its nationwide strike expected to commence next week.
NATIONAL POST reports that the Nigerian Government has been making effort to make the union shelve the planned action.
A committee is said to be negotiating with the various unions in the university.
However, ASUU said on Monday that the strike would go on as planned if the Federal Government fails to respond to their demands on or before October 13 this year.
The planned strike follows a two-week ultimatum issued by the union last week.
ASUU President, Chris Piwuna, affirmed the strike during the Orientation/Leadership Training on the theme ‘Understanding the Principles of the Union’, at the ASUU, Niger Delta University Branch in Amassoma, Bayelsa State.
According him, "the warning strike has been issued and we are not meeting to discuss that again as a union because our position has been taken, and by midnight of Monday, we will embark on a two-week warning strike, after which we will meet after the expiration to decide when to begin an indefinite and comprehensive strike action.
“The issues still remain the same, re-negotiation of our 2009 documents is still lingering over the years, and we want Nigerians to know that we have been talking and the strike action is coming after several years of negotiations and we are not just jumping on a strike.
"We have given the government enough time on this particular issue; just imagine they gave us three weeks to get back to them and never did till this moment. Nigerians must always look at the actions of the government that have always pushed us to such actions."
The ASUU President also condemned the NELFUND policy, insisting that it was not sustainable considering the economic situation in the country.
"In an economy where the unemployment rate is high, families can’t feed themselves, so where do they want them to repay the loan?
"If they truly want to give them money, they should come out clean. Where are the jobs that will enable them to repay the loans? If the money is meant to make the universities run better, they should be given as grants, not loans," he stressed.
