The Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) maintains that the ongoing strike action would not be called off until the Federal Government implements all its demands.
To pound home their demands, union members recently shut down campuses across the country.
The leadership of ASUU met with the Federal Government on Tuesday, February 22, 2022, to resolve their differences.
During the meeting, the Federal Government’s representative, Dr Chris Ngige, Minister of Labour and Employment, refuted the union’s claim that the FG failed to implement some long-standing agreements.
In an interview with Punch newspaper, the minister said that ASUU demands were being reviewed.
“We have discussed quite a number of things and I am urging them to brief their members and call off the strike before the expiration of the one-month duration of the warning strike. By Monday, we would have dealt with some of the issues they are talking about and return to them for further discussion. We will meet again with them and the Nigeria Inter-Religious Council and we will take it from there,” he said.
ASUU National President, Prof. Emmanuel Osodeke in an interview with Punch newspaper said that the union would not call off its strike if all its demands were not met.
He said, “We can call off the strike tomorrow if the FG implements and meets all our demands. It is in their hands to meet all the demands not in our hands. If they want it called off this week, next week, it is possible if they should do what they are supposed to do and not all these empty promises that we are not sure they will not implement. But If you call off the strike, as usual, they will abandon everything.”
Meanwhile, Ngige has urged ASUU not to intimidate the investigation committee and the Ministry of Education, claiming that if they do, their documents will be rejected.
He said, “We had a committee we impanelled in the ministry of education to take matters up because they are the direct employers of the lecturers. The committee was headed by Professor Manzali and there was a draft proposal which the education ministry has to agree on with them and then break it up to the higher bodies of the government, the Presidential Committee on Salaries, and from there, it goes to FEC for approval.
“ASUU should not intimidate the education ministry or the committee to come up with things that are not in tandem with the normal rate. if they do that, the document will not fly. The ministry of education will resuscitate that committee within two weeks to look at the draft proposal it had with ASUU so that they can come up with something for the PSC to have a look at and send to FEC”.
