ASUU sets deadline for demands as FG laments inherited crisis

The Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) has set a deadline for the Federal Government to resolve the crisis confronting universities in the country.

This comes as the Federal Government has said it inherited the lingering crisis rocking tertiary education.

These were the outcome of a meeting between the Federal Government and the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) on Wednesday night in Abuja.

The over two hours meeting which held at the Conference Room of the Minister of Education, Prof. Tahir Mamman, who led the Federal Government team, also had the National President, Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU), Prof. Emmanuel Osodeke, leading the academic union.

The development comes as ASUU has said it would reach out to its members to determine whether an industrial action should be called to press home its demand for better welfare.

Speaking to journalists after the meeting, Prof. Osodeke said this is the first meeting between the union and the Federal Government since Bola Tinubu administration came into office on May 29, 2023.

He noted that none of the 10 contending issues tabled by the Union has been resolved, adding that consultations would continue.

“We had discussion on all the issues that you are all aware of – about 10 of them. And we have assigned tasks to some people to look at. And we have agreed on the way forward. But we will go back and give details to our members at our next meeting,” Osodeke said.

“What we have said is that the government has spent one year in office. And we have not been called for any formal meeting. Today we are having the first formal meeting for which all the issues were put on the table. None of them had been concluded. And there is a process we have started. And we have also set deadline we are going to meet to look at what has been done on those issues.”

On whether the union will embark on industrial action, he said, “We are going to brief our members. They will advise us on what to do after that”.

On his part, Prof Mamman expressed the willingness of the Nigerian government to ensure that all contentious issues with the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) are resolved.

The Minister admitted that although the contending issues were inherited, government is a continuum and it would ensure the issues are amicably resolved.

He, however, stated that both parties have agreed to reconvene on a later date after getting clarity on some of the knotty issues.

“We have had a very good meeting; a very productive, friendly one. As you know, issues of education are extremely important for the country. And for all of us stakeholders in the system. We discussed progress and how to ensure that the system works well,” Mamman said.

“A lot of the issues which we talked about are issues that we all inherited. And so we discussed them all without exception. And we have had consensus on the way forward. A lot of consultations will still continue. Some information, we don’t have.

“Some things are beyond the scope of the ministry, which will require us to connect with our colleagues in other ministries. But the important thing is that we had a very good meeting and agreed to continue with the consultation and meetings to hopefully overcome the problems bedeviling education in Nigeria.”

On May 14, the union gave the President Bola Tinubu-led Federal Government a weeks ultimatum after which universities may be plunged into industrial crises.

Osodeke listed some of the demands to include: renegotiation of the FGN/ASUU 2009 agreement, arrears of Earned Allowances and non-release of outstanding three and half months’ salaries, dissolution of Governing Councils of federal universities, continuous use of Integrated Personnel and Payroll Information System (IPPIS) to pay its members, use of new curriculum for Universities, diversion of Tertiary Education Trust Fund (TETFund) intervention fund to the student loan scheme, among others.

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