ASUU in its demands has called for the renegotiation of the ASUU/FG 2009 agreement and the sustainability of the university autonomy by deploying UTAS to replace the government’s “imposed” (IPPIS).
Also in its demands is the release of the reports of visitation panels to federal universities, distortions in salary payment challenges, funding for revitalisation of public universities, earned academic allowance, poor funding of state universities and promotion arrears.
Osodeke on Thursday said there won’t be a need to call off the strike despite the federal releasing N34 billion for the payment of consequential adjustment for a minimum wage of workers in the education system.
He further stated that the N34 billion released was not part of their demands.
Osodeke also sympathised with university students over the prolonged strike by the union.
According to Osodeke, the students are suffering for Nigeria’s future and education system.
The ASUU president said the students were not being punished but paying the price to ensure that Nigeria had a good education
The Federal Government says it will spend about N34 billion as arrears of Minimum Wage Consequential Adjustments in the education sector effective from 2019.
The Minister of Labour and Employment, Sen. Chris Ngige said that this was aimed at resolving the lingering crisis in the sector, NAN reports.
Ngige made this known while speaking with newsmen on the prolonged strike by the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU), and others on Tuesday in Abuja.
Ngige said that the beneficiaries of the Minimum Wage Consequential Adjustments included the members of the striking ASUU and their counterparts in the polytechnics and Colleges of Education.
According to Ngige, the universities will get N23.5 billion, the polytechnics N6 billion and the Colleges of Education N4 billion, bringing the total sum to N33.5 billion.
The minister, while giving an update on the ongoing strike, said committees were set up during the last tripartite meeting of the government and university based unions.
He said they were given a fortnight to turn in their report, adding they were still working and the reports of the committees were being expected at the end of the week.
“Those committees are working. The one on NITDA is testing the three platforms, the government’s Integrated Personnel and Payroll Information System (IPPIS).
“Also the University Transparency Accountability Solution (UTAS) of ASUU and the Universities Peculiar Personnel Payroll System (UPPPS) of the non-teaching staff.
NANS South West Zone Coordinator, Mr Adegboye Olatunji, made this known in Abuja on Monday, at a protest to the All Progressive Congress (APC) Secretariat in solidarity with Gov. Dapo Abiodun of Ogun to run for a second term.
Olatunji said that it was time both parties came together to resolve the issues leading to the strike as students were at the receiving end.
“We are planning to block government organisations that generate money for them if the ASUU issue is not resolved.
“We have been protesting on this issue by occupying major roads in the South West but we believe if we ground airports, the government will do something about the strike,” he said.
Olantunji said that the student body had dissociated itself from Abiodun’s prosecution and disqualification from contesting the 2023 elections.
He said Abiodun’s education policy remained enviable in the South West region because he’s coming on board had helped in the resuscitation of some tertiary institutions in the state.
The Academic Staff Union of Universities has insisted that its members won’t resume work despite the Federal Government’s payment of minimum wage arrears.
This [was contained in a circular by the University of Lagos branch of the union titled, ‘Payment of minimum wage arrears’.
The chairman of UNILAG ASUU, Dele Ashiru, confirmed the authenticity of the circular on Saturday.
Ashiru described the arrears payment as “long-overdue”, saying that the core demands of ASUU have not been met.
The circular read, “The leadership of our Branch has been inundated with calls concerning the recent payment of the long-overdue arrears of the consequential adjustment of the minimum wage.
“Our members are reminded that this is not one of the core demands upon which the ongoing strike action is premised.
“For the avoidance of doubt, the demands of our Union are the conclusion of the renegotiation of the 2009 FGN/ASUU Agreement, abrogation of the fraudulent and corrupt IPPIS scheme and the deployment of UTAS, payment of promotion arrears, the proliferation of State Universities and governance issues amongst others.
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