FG ready to pacify ASUU over strike

The federal government of Nigeria has expressed readiness to pacify the angry Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) over threats by the union to embark on a nationwide strike.

Chris Ngige, the minister of labour and employment disclosed this recently in his response to ASUU’s nationwide indefinite strike stance over what the union tagged the failure of the federal government to honour some of the agreements it signed with it in the past.

“The federal government would look into the issues raised by ASUU. Most of the union’s grievances were domiciled in the ministries of education and communications and digital economy,” Ngige said.

Recall that ASUU went on a whopping nine months strike in 2020, which was called off in December of that year.

In 2021, ASUU rekindled the fire of fresh threats by which the union handed the federal government a three-week ultimatum to address its grievances. ASUU later decided to soft paddle when it shelved the move following the payment of N22.1bn earned allowances and the release of N30bn revitalisation fund to the universities.

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Besides, some eminent Nigerians stepped in to mediate with the warring bodies as they sought solutions to ASUU and government face-off over the failure to implement the Memorandum of Understanding the government signed with ASUU in 2009 and other agreements.

However, ASUU recently issued directives to its chapters and encouraged members to continue mobilising for the impending strike.

According to the minister of labour and employment, “The truth is that ASUU’s grievances are with the NUC, the ministry of education and the ministry of communications and digital economy. The issues are the deployment of their UTAS and the White Paper report on the universities.”

Ngige further explained that the ministry of labour is not primarily the employer of ASUU but the ministry of education and that the ministry of labour is just acting as reconciliatory officers.

“The President has mandated his Chief of Staff and the minister of education as well as the ministry of labour to step in, but my job is to step in as the reconciliatory officer if both sides refuse to settle their grievances. We will surely look into the matter,” Ngige said.