Breaking!- ASUU Strike Update: ASUU Strike to End Soon as FG Re-opens Negotiation With ASUU

Information Reaching Us that THE Federal Government may have reopened dialogue with the
leadership of the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU), in a
bid to end the over two months old strike.
This came just as the National Association of Nigerians Students
(NANS) urged both government and ASUU to return back to the
negotiation table, with each party willing to shift ground from their
previous positions.
Indications to the new development with ASUU emerged on Monday,
when journalists were called to cover the meeting, which was
eventually postponed till next week, with a ministry official saying
this was to allow the supervising Minister of Education, Mr Nyesom
Wike, get proper briefing on the current standpoint of the issues
involved.
Wike was joined by the Minister of Labour and Productivity, Chief
Emeka Wogu, for the meeting scheduled for 12 noon at the Federal
Ministry of Education conference room before it was called off.
Nigerian Tribune gathered that the resumption of talks followed the
exit of the former Minister of Education, Professor Ruqayyatu Ahmed
Rufa’i, who was dropped last week by President Goodluck Jonathan
alongside eight other ministers.
The negotiation between the government and leadership of ASUU
broke down over disagreement on payment of academic earned
allowance to union members.
Meanwhile, the Nigerian students, under the auspices of NANS, have
called on both the Federal Government and ASUU to return back to the
negotiation table, in order to resolve their differences in good faith.
Acting Senate president of NANS, John Shima, while addressing
newsmen in Abuja, lauded the sack of Professor Rufa’i and other
ministers, as part of the initiatives of President Jonathan to retool the
government.
“ASUU and Federal Government should go back to the negotiating
table. Even after wars, issues are resolved at the roundtable.
Nigerian students have been idle for 78 days.
“Nigerian students are tired of sitting at home. Both parties are urged
to shift ground to ensure quick resolution of the crisis.
“We lost almost three years of study time in the last 10 years due to
strikes; the lost time being enough to graduate a student in
Germany,” Shima said.
Meanwhile, Benue State governor, Mr Gabriel Suswam, has vowed to
get tough on striking lecturers of Benue State University, Makurdi, by
evoking “no work, no pay” policy if they refuse to call off what he
described as their “sympathy strike,” which had paralysed academic
activities in the state.
Suswam said state-owned universities like that of Benue had no
reason whatsoever to remain on strike, since it was federal
universities and not states that were earlier involved in the
negotiation with the Federal Government.
Suswam explained that Benue State University had been benefiting
fully from the earned allowance for which the Federal Government
voted N30 billion and had no cause to be complaining.
The governor, while addressing communicant members of the
Reformed Church of Christ in Nigeria, at Achusa village, Makurdi, at
the weekend, decried the extent to which the strike had gone and
admonished the authorities of the institution to expedite action
towards suspending the protracted strike for students to resume in
the next one week.
He condemned the level of dilapidated infrastructure in most state-
owned universities, including Benue State University, but applauded
the Federal Government for the release of N100 billion to assuage the
problem.
Benue State University, the governor said, got N950 million for the
execution of six projects within the institution, while he expressed
optimism that the funds would be judiciously used for the growth of
the university.

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