The Academic Staff Union of Universities and the Joint Action Committee of the Non-Academic Staff Union of Educational and Associated Institutions and Senior Staff Association of Nigerian Universities have dismissed the claim by the Minister of Labour and Employment, Senator Chris Ngige,that the unions would call off the ongoing strike this week.
The Minister had said at the weekend that the government and unions had a cordial and fruit discussion during the meeting with the unions and all stakeholders in the education sector and religious leaders and reached some agreements, to the satisfaction of everybody in attendance.
But the unions speaking through the national leaders of ASUU and JAC of SSANU and NASU, Prof Emmanuel Osodeka and Mr. Mohammed Ibrahim, respectively, stated that the Federal Government did not reach a strong agreement with them that can lead to calling off the industrial actions.
Osodeke said Ngige’s claim that the unions would call off the ongoing strike this week was a political statement.
“We are not aware that we are calling off the strike. We met but there was nothing concrete between us and the government. Like we said before, we do not want promises, we want actions, if they show action and implement all the issues, we will go to our members, but knowing their antecedents, we know they will not do anything.
“They promised us since December 2020 and it is going to a year and a half, they have not done anything. We are waiting for them.
“As far as we are concerned, only when they sign our agreements, accept UTAS, release EAA and revitalisation funds will we call the strikes off”, he said.
On his part, Ibrahim stated that the major progress he could point at during the meeting was the ordering of the National Information Technology Development Agency, by the presidency who was represented by the Chief of Staff to the President and Chairman of the meeting, Prof. Ibrahim Gambari, to subject the three payment solutions; Integrated Payroll and Personnel information system , University Transparency and Accountability Solution and University Peculiar Payroll Payment System, to integrity test and submit in three weeks.
“We are not talking about calling off strike now,” he noted.
