The Minister of Labour and Employment, Chris Ngige, on
Wednesday, stated that the Federal Government would look into the threat by the
Academic Staff Union of Universities.
The minister also said most of the union’s grievances were
domiciled in the ministries of Education and Communications and Digital
Economy.
Ngige stated this in an interview in Abuja.
ASUU had issued several threats of an indefinite strike over
what the union tagged the failure of the Federal Government to honour some of
the agreements it signed with it in the past.
In 2020, ASUU went on a nine-month strike, which was called
off in December of that year.
In 2021, the union issued fresh threats and gave the Federal
Government a three-week ultimatum to address its grievances. The union later
shelved the move following the payment of N22.1bn earned allowances and the
release of N30bn revitalisation fund to the universities.
Some members of the Nigeria Inter-religious Council, led by
the co-chairmen, the Sultan of Sokoto, Muhammad Abubakar III, and the President
of the Christian Association of Nigeria, Dr Samson Ayokunle, visited the President,
Major General Muhammadu Buhari (retd.), over the failure to implement the
Memorandum of Understanding the government signed with ASUU in 2009 and other
agreements.
At the meeting, Buhari said the government remained
committed to fulfilling the promises made to the union.
Despite this, ASUU issued directives to its chapters and
encouraged members to continue mobilising for the impending strike.
Ngige, however, told one of our correspondents, “The truth
is that ASUU’s grievances are with the NUC, the Ministry of Education and the
Ministry of Communications and Digital Economy. The issues are the deployment
of their UTAS and the White Paper report on the universities.
“You know that we at the Ministry of Labour are not their
employer; the Education ministry is their employer. Our job here is to act as
reconciliatory officers.
“The President has mandated his Chief of Staff and the
Minister of Education as well as the Ministry of Labour to step in, but my job
is to step in as the reconciliatory officer if both sides refuse to settle
their grievances. We will surely look into the matter.”
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