ASUU Chairman Won’t Answer Question On When To Call Off Strike, Says ‘Ask Ngige’

The Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) has blamed the federal government for the strike action declared since March 23, saying only the action of the government would determine when it is called off.

ASUU Chairman, University of Lagos chapter, Dr Dele Ashiru, made this known to THE WHISTLER, on Saturday.

Ashiru also reacted to the reported additional 15 billion naira revitalisation fund offer made on Friday by Minister of Labor and Employment, Chris Ngige.

THE WHISTLER earlier reported that Ngige had said that federal government would now pay 65 billion naira as revitalisation fund and earned allowances for lecturers, a sum still far short of just the N110 billion revitilisation fund the union was asking for.

But Ashiru maintained that a promise made by a government official does not mean it has or will be effected.

He stressed that the union was yet to get an official information on the development, adding that when it becomes official, it would then decide on what next steps to take.

“They promised to release… Well, when the Union receives the official information, not on the social media, the union will meet and decide on what next line of action to take,” he said.

Also reacting to a question on when the strike would be called off, he said “you should ask Ngige that question, not me; it is Government that can answer that question.”

ASUU had said that the federal government was unwilling to do its part in upgrading the quality of university education, hence the strike.

Among other things, it had rejected the Integrated Payroll and Personnel Information System (IPPIS) payment platfrom while proposing its own model – the University Transparency and Accountability Solution (UTAS).