Reconciliatory meeting between Federal Government and Academic Staff Union of Universities about the union’s ongoing one-month strike has ended inconclusively.
Amid a warning strike declared by the lecturers, both parties failed to reach an agreement at the meeting held on Tuesday in Abuja.
Minister of Labour and Employment, Chris Ngige, who convened the meeting, led the government delegation while ASUU President, Professor Emmanuel Osodeke, attended alongside other leaders of the union.
Read Also: Breaking: ASUU Declares One-Month Warning Strike
Recall that on February 14, nation’s education sector was hit with another setback when Professor Osodeke announced that the union had embarked on a one-month warning strike.
As a result of the industrial action, academic activities have been grounded in various government-owned universities in the country.
ASUU declared the strike to re-echo its demands of revitalisation of public universities, payment of earned allowances, improved funding of state universities, and promotion arrears for members.
Another concern raised was the replacement of the Integrated Personnel Payroll Information System (IPPIS) with University Transparency and Accountability Solution (UTAS) in the payment of emoluments to members, among others.
A week after the strike commenced, Ngige, while addressing Tuesday’s meeting, said the government was surprised that the lecturers could take such a decision.
According to him, commencing an industrial action was unnecessary at a time when the government is doing its best to resolve the issues raised by the lecturers.
The minister also said the government was surprised that ASUU negated the assurances it gave through Nigerian Inter-Religious Council (NIREC) and Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN).
He stressed;
From this negotiation, we are having today, ASUU will appreciate that the government means no harm. This is because even if there are still lapses in implementation of the agreement, they are not such that will lead to industrial action. To that extent, we have to do everything possible to resolve this. So, the government side is taken by surprise—the ministry of education, the ministry of finance and all—are taken aback.
However, Academic Staff Union of Universities says it will not shift ground until its demands are met by the federal government.
Osodeke also disclosed that only the federal government can end the one-month strike the union embarked upon on February 14.
At the meeting, Osodeke blamed the government for the current strike, alleging that apart from not implementing the 2020 MoA it signed, the government failed to convene the regular implementation monitoring meeting as agreed.
The ASUU leader insisted that the union’s members were determined not to shift ground until their demands were met.
