The Academic Staff Union of Polytechnics (ASUP) yesterday issued the Federal Government a 21-day ultimatum to fulfill its promises or face a strike.

Addressing a news conference in Abuja, President Shammah Kpanja listed some of their demands to include the non-implementation of the new minimum wage in some states, non-release of promotion arrears/non-implementation of promotion in many state-owned institutions, with some dating back to 2019, dichotomy between Higher National Diploma (HND) and bachelor’s degree holders.

Others are the delay in implementation of dual-mode to allow polytechnics to run degree programmes, non-renegotiation of the 2010 agreement, and outsourcing of programme accreditation.

The union expressed concerns over the National Board for Technical Education (NBTE)’s decision to continue to outsource the accreditation process for polytechnics despite assurances to desist from such actions.

Kpanja, who accused the National Salaries Incomes and Wages Commission (NSIWC) of failing to release a circular to effect the payment of their Peculiar Academic Allowance, a component of the ASUP/FGN 2010 agreement, lamented that the allowance had been removed from the budgeting template.