The Federal Government has said that it has delivered on it promises made to the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU).
This was in a reaction to the union’s claim that the government had failed to deliver on offers made to the union. The President of the union, Prof. biodun Ogunyemi made this claim last week.
The academics blamed the FG for the union’s failure to call off the strike, adding that the lecturers would not return to classes until their salary arrears were paid.
The Minister of Labor and Employment, Senator Chris Ngige, however, on Tuesday disclosed that ASUU agreed at their last meeting with the government team on November 27 to call off the nine-month-old strike before December 9.
The minister said, “The truth of the matter is that a ‘gentleman agreement’ was reached at the last meeting in which ASUU agreed to call off the strike before December 9, 2020, and the minister, in turn, agreed that once the strike is called off, he would get a presidential waiver for ASUU to be paid the remainder of their salaries on or before December 9.”
Ngige said this in a statement from his media office on Tuesday, titled, ‘We have kept our promises to ASUU – FG.’
He said it was false and discomfiting for ASUU to inform the public wrongly that the government agreed to pay all withheld salaries before it would resume work, stressing that the timelines attached to various offers made to the union had been complied with.
Ngige said, “The N40b Earned Academic Allowances have also been processed just as the N30bn revitalization funds, bringing it to N70bn. Likewise, the visitation panels for the universities have been approved by the President but the panel cannot perform its responsibilities until the shut universities are re-opened.
“The gazetting is also being rounded off at the Office of the Attorney-General of the Federation while the Ministry of Education is ready to inaugurate the various visitation panels.”
He disclosed that, “they were paid for February and March, after which it was extended to April, May and June, months they were on strike on compassionate ground, bringing it to five months.”
Adding that, “Asking the government to pay these four months before it goes back to work means ASUU is placing itself above the law of the land and no government will encourage it as it is a recipe for chaos in the labour milieu.”
