The Federal Government on Wednesday said the ongoing strike by the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) would soon be called off.
This was as it said there are no plans to establish an alternative payment table for all the labour unions in tertiary institutions.
Minister of Labour and Employment, Dr Chris Ngige, disclosed this while briefing State House Correspondents at the end of the weekly Federal Executive Council meeting presided over by the President Major General Muhammadu Buhari (retd.) at the Council Chambers of the presidential villa, Abuja.
Despite four months into the strike already, Ngige assured Nigerians that efforts were underway to resolve the ongoing dispute largely fueled by payment platforms.
ASUU, which grounded academic activities in Nigerian universities since February 14, 2022, had insisted on the use of its own generated payment platform, University Transparency and Accountability Solution.
It premised its demand on claims that the government-backed Integrated Payroll and Personnel Information System was shortchanging its members.
However, the Federal Government, last March claimed that UTAS was unfit for wide-scale use as it failed three integrity tests.
Aside from UTAS, the Senior Staff Association of Nigerian Universities and Non-Academic Staff Union of Allied and Educational Institutions also proposed their payment platform: Universities Peculiar Personnel Payroll System.
Ngige argued that the Federal Government was indeed engaging with ASUU, despite notions that it has been snubbing the union.
Meanwhile, the Joint Action Committee of the Senior Staff Association of Nigerian Universities and the Non-Academic Staff Union of Educational and allied institutions has extended its ongoing strike by two months.
This was made known on Wednesday, in a statement signed by the National President, SSANU, Mr Mohammed Ibrahim, and General Secretary, Mr Peter Adeyemi.
The statement partly read, ‘‘In view of the fact that government is still a long way from effectively resolving the issues in contention, it is only expedient that we allow the process to be fully concluded before directing the end of the strike. Consequently, you are hereby informed that the strike has been extended by two months, within which we are hoping that all the contentious issues would have been effectively laid to rest. The two-month extension is with effect from Friday, June 24, 2022.’’
REPORTERS AT LARGE had reported that NASU/SSANU’s strike started with a warning strike of two weeks which commenced at the midnight on Sunday, March 27, 2022, while the extension of another two weeks commenced on Sunday, April 10, 2022, and it is still ongoing.
Some of the demands of SSANU include the inconsistent issue of the Integrated Payroll and Personnel information system, unpaid earned allowances, delay in the renegotiation of the FGN, NASU, SSANU agreements, and non-payment of minimum wage arrears.
Others include neglect and poor funding of state universities, non-payment of retirement benefits to outgoing members of the unions, and usurpation of the headship of non-teaching units in clear violation of conditions of service and establishment procedures, among others.
