ASUU: FG gives fresh updates, says strike may be called off soon

Chris Ngige, the minister of labour and employment, has said the federal government has reached some levels of agreement with the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) on the lingering strike embarked by the lecturers.

Telescope.ng reports that Ngige said he was hopeful that after the deliberations, ASUU would consider calling off the strike in a few weeks.

The minister, who spoke at the federal government resumption of talks with the union on Thursday, May 12, in Abuja, declared that they have reached some agreements with ASUU.

He said that hopefully by next week, those agreements will be maturing and the different unions will have something to tell their members, so that they can call off the strike.

Ngige stated: “We have put some timelines for some aspects like renegotiation of 2009 agreement in terms of condition of service and wage review, so, we are hopeful that by next weekend, the unions will see a conclusion of that area.”

ASUU has however insisted that when its demands are met, they will call off the strike.

The meeting commenced at the banquet hall of the State House, Abuja and was attended by the representatives of the Nigeria Inter-Religious Council (NIREC), ASUU leaders and officials of the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) and the Trade Union Congress (TUC).

Others who participated in the meeting included the minister of education, Adamu Adam, and officials of the National Salaries, Incomes and Wages Commission.

The meeting was presided over by the chief of staff to the president, Prof. Ibrahim Gambari, under the directive of President Muhammadu Buhari.

Prior to the meeting, President Muhammadu Buhari had appealed to ASUU to consider the plight of students and call off the strike.

The president also urged students in Nigeria’s public tertiary institutions to exercise patience as the government strives to address the nagging issues in the nation’s university system within the ambit of the resources available.

He made the appeal at the 19th National Productivity Day and the conferment of the National Productivity Order of Merit Award (NPOM) on 48 eminent Nigerians and organisations in both the public and private sectors, for their high productivity, hard work and excellence.