ASUU to call off strike, calls emergency NEC meeting, to meet FG tomorrow
The Federal Government had increased its offer to N65 billion from the N30 billion it offered initially.
The Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) may call off its nine-months-old strike this week, following a scheduled meeting with the Federal Government tomorrow (Tuesday) in Abuja by 4 PM.
To this effect, the union has summoned an emergency NEC meeting this evening to consider reports from all ASUU branches nationwide.
ASUU had embarked on a nationwide industrial on March 23, 2020, to protest FG’s insistence on the implementation of the IPPIS in the payment of University lecturers’ salaries and allowances.
The striking lecturers favoured their developed home-grown payment platform, UTAS, which they said guarantees the autonomy of the university.
However, after several deadlocks, the FG, in October, made some concessions to university lecturers with an increased offer of N65 billion from its initial N30 billion offer.
The N65 billion seeks to address the issue of earned allowances and “revitalisation of universities”.
The minister of labour, Chris Ngige, had said the Accountant General of the Federation offered to release N40 billion “or in the alternative, N35 billion to be shared by all the registered trade unions in the universities after providing necessary evidence of having earned the allowance.
According to FG, the offer of N40 billion or N35 billion, whichever is accepted by ASUU, was for all the universities’ unions.
ASUU had proposed that N40 billion be paid immediately for all unions.
