The Federal Government has said it will meet with the leadership of the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) today to continue discussions and avert disruption in academic activities across public universities.
The Director of Press and Public Relations in the Federal Ministry of Education, Boriowo Folasade, confirmed this in an invitation he sent yesterday to cover the meeting between both parties sent yestrday.
“This engagement reflects the ministry’s commitment to constructive dialogue and collaboration in addressing key issues in Nigeria’s university system. Your coverage and presence will be highly valued,” the notice said.
The union had threatened to embark on a strike today unless the government took immediate steps to address their demands.
On Tuesday, branches of ASUU across the country staged a protest to draw the attention of the government to its demands.
The protest disrupted academic activities in public universities.
To placate the union, the Minister of Education, Dr. Maruf Olatunji Alausa, met with the leadership of the university lecturers on Tuesday and discussed salary review and other demands of the university teachers.
Some of the demands of ASUU include: conclusion of the renegotiation of the 2009 FGN/ASUU Agreement based on Nimi Briggs Committee’s Draft Agreement of 2021; release of withheld three-and-a-half months’ salaries over the 2022 strike; release of unpaid salaries of staff on sabbatical, part-time and adjunct appointments.
Others are: release of outstanding third-party deductions, such as check-off dues and cooperative contributions; funding for revitalisation of public universities; proliferation of universities by the federal and state governments, and others.
Also, ASUU has renewed its warning to the federal and state governments over unpaid salaries and allowances.
The union also threatened to down tools if the governments do not take urgent steps to address its demands.
It accused the governments of failing to sign the renegotiated 2009 FGN-ASUU agreement.
ASUU expressed its concerns on the heels of the union’s protest on Tuesday when it demanded the implementation of the agreement and immediate payment of withheld entitlements, which it said have left many academic workers impoverished and frustrated.
Speaking on a television programme, ASUU President, Prof. Christopher Piwuna, said the union had exercised enough patience and understanding for the Federal Government to meet its obligations to academics.
Piwuna said: “We’ve been on this for such a long time, and we have, in our view, always demonstrated patience, understanding, and have adopted dialogue to try to address these issues.
Since democracy started in 1999, people are quick to say that ASUU has been on strike and schools have been closed. You wonder what the government thinks about these actions.
“When this government came into power two and a half years or so ago, we had engaged them. This is the second Minister of Education since the advent of this administration. We engaged Prof. Tahir Mamman; we have engaged the current minister, Dr. Tunji Alausa, over these issues.
“It appears as if the machines of the government work extremely slowly, and we have had that over and over again.