ASUU yet to receive invitation from FG for negotiation – Emmanuel Osodeke

Emmanuel Osodeke, the national president of the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) has stated that the union is yet to receive an invitation from the federal government for negotiation as the two-month strike elapses.

Osodeke disclosed that the leaders of ASUU have not gotten any message from the federal government for a negotiation meeting as it is claimed.

“The way you heard it, that was how we got the news too. We heard it in the media. The minister of labour has not reached out to us for any meeting.

“We expected that if there would be any meeting, he should have reached out to us first before going to the media,” he said.

Recall over the weekend there were reports that the federal government through the minister of labour and employment, Chris Ngige would be meeting with the representatives of ASUU on Monday, May 9 to resolve the impasse over the industrial action embarked by lecturers in Nigerian public universities.

Ngige, had on Friday, May 6 in a statement assured Nigerians that the lingering crisis would be resolved in a meeting with ASUU on Monday.

Read also: ASUU strike: Group urges lecturers to be flexible in negotiation

ASUU had on February 14 embarked on a 30-day warning strike following the federal government’s inability to implement agreements entered into with the union.

ASUU had after the one-month warning strike on March 14, shut down public universities for another two months which elapses on Monday, May 9.

The union has insisted that it will not call off the strike until the federal government agrees to jettison the Integrated Personnel and Payment System (IPPIS) for the Universities Transparency Accountability Solution (UTAS).

The lecturers reiterated that the IPPIS payment system is not ideal for their own kind of work.

Besides, the union wants the federal government to comply with the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) agreement reached by both parties in 2009 which among other things entails the release of the earned academic allowances of lecturers and the review of salary scales of public universities lecturers in Nigeria.