BREAKING: ASUU Representatives Still Meeting In Abuja Over Strike
Amid calls by some students to reopen tertiary institutions, the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) is still meeting in Abuja over its 2019 memorandum of action with the federal government as well as its strike action of March 23, an official of the union said.
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ASUU Chairman, University of Ibadan, Prof. Ayoola Akinwole, disclosed this on Friday in an exclusive chat with THE WHISTLER.
Akinwole said that the final outcome of the union’s meeting with the federal government’s delegation and its own line of action would be made known to the public after consultation with its members.
“Our representatives are in Abuja, they are still meeting; perhaps, you will wait when our representatives briefs us we will brief the press men.
“Until, we hear from our team we cannot make any comment on whatever meeting they are doing,” he said.
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He also said that the news going round may just be the “federal government’s version of what is transpiring.”
THE WHISTLER earlier reported that ASUU had on Thursday, met with officials of the Federal Ministry of Labour and Employment, among others.
It noted that even though certain agreements were reached at the meeting, it wanted a full commitment for the betterment of university education.
“The sum of N30billion earned academic allowance will be disbursed to our University Lecturers between May 2021-February 2022.
“Part of concessions provided to end the 7 month industrial action will attract a sum of N20bn as well.
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“We’re trying not to have a half-baked agreement, therefore, an integrated update will be made available in due time.
“Therefore, with this understanding, the ongoing strike has not been suspended,” ASUU tweeted.
One of the burning issues is ASUU’s proposal of its own payment platform, the University Transparency Accountability Solution (UTAS), as against federal government’s Integrated Payroll and Personnel Information System (IPPIS) payment.
On his part, ASUU Chairman, University of Lagos, Dele Ashiru, told our correspondent that the union’s payment platform was the best for lecturers.
“Government has said that once we finish the development of UTAS, they would adopt it and we have finished it and it has been demonstrated to the Federal Ministry of Education; we are waiting for Government to implement that decision which they reached with our union; once that is done, our union is willing to go back to work.
“Not only that, we have gone ahead to help Government to develop an alternative, why are they running away from comparing the two.
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“Yes, Government can determine how it will pay its workers but workers also have a right to say that this thing you are doing is injurious to me; by the deployment of IPPIS our members are loosing more than 100,000 naira in their monthly payment.
“And what will interest you is that those who were deceived in getting enrolled in the IPPIS platform are not only regretting it today, they have joined ASUU in a warning strike against Government which will turn into a full blown strike at the end of this week if nothing is done by Government.
“It’s not only ASUU that is saying that that platform is not good , SANU, Polytechnic lecturers, Federal Colleges of Education lecturers are saying so,” he said on Monday.
Meanwhile, the Minister of State, Labor and Employment, Festus Keyamo, had said that the government was determined to address the issues surrounding the ASUU strike.
“Since afternoon, the Govt delegation has been locked in negotiations with the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU).
” We are trying to break the logjam on a number of issues, including the IPPIS. The students and the nation deserve a respite from the indefinite strike action,” he tweeted on Thursday.
