Federal Government has once again assured that the prolonged strike by Academic Staff Union of Universities would soon come to an end.
The assurances followed the part payment of arrears of salaries to university lecturers in line with the agreement reached with the union.
Read Also: ASUU Strike: Varsities To Reopen January, Says Ngige
Some lecturers confirmed that they had been paid two months’ salary arrears.
Senator Chris Ngige, Minister of Labour and Employment while speaking at a meeting with ASUU on Tuesday assured that the strike would be called off before January 15.
Referring to an ultimatum issued by some students, the minister noted that he had not received a letter from the students threatening to embark on protests if the strike was not called off.
Ngige said;
The government would disappoint all those wishing for the protests as all the matters in dispute must have been resolved by January 15.
Those who want to use the #EndASUU protest to destroy public and private property or lecturers’ homes will be disappointed.
I am optimistic that the meeting will produce the final result that will make everybody happy.
Expressing optimism about the meeting, the minister informed ASUU that he had received confirmation from FG that most of the grey areas had been dealt with.
Ngige added;
We are hopeful that ASUU will then take the report of what we achieved today to their members. We allow social dialogue in line with ILO conventions for all employers and employee, to guide this meeting.
On his part, ASUU President, Prof Biodun Ogunyemi, said they sympathised with their students who are also their children, adding that;
No amount of sacrifice would be too much to get the matter resolved as long as the government is consistent with its commitments.
Ogunyemi said they came for the meeting with all sense of responsibility to resolve the crisis in the interest of the students and their members, who, he said had been starving.
He, however, reiterated that only the National Executive Committee of ASUU could announce the suspension of the strike.
