Welcome to Naija News compilation of the latest news on the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) strike for today, 20th July 2022.
Naija News reports that universities lecturers have been on strike since February 14, 2022 over unresolved issues with the federal government.
The Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) on Tuesday announced that there is no going back on the strike action embarked upon by members of the union until the federal government accedes to their demand.
The ASUU National President, Professor Emmanuel Osodeke, stated this on Tuesday while providing an update to newsmen about the strike action that commenced on February 14.
According to him, the Minister of Labour and Employment, Chris Ngige is a major hindrance in the way of efforts to end the strike and ensure the nation’s public universities are re-opened.
Osodeke stressed that issues such as the adoption of the University Transparency and Accountability Solution (UTAS) instead of the Integrated Personnel Payroll Information System (IPPIS), the poor funding of universities, non-payment of salaries and allowances of some of their colleagues, as well as the inability of the government to pay earned academic allowance to lecturers, among other issues must be addressed before resumption can take place.
President Muhammadu Buhari has directed Minister of Education, Adamu Adamu to settle issues with the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) to end their lingering strike.
Naija News reports that the public varsity lecturers commenced the industrial actions in early February 2022.
Although the union had initially embarked on a warning strike but eventually elongated the strike over the failure of the government to meet their pressing demands.
Despite several meetings, the varsity staff and representatives of the government still couldn’t reach a good end to call off the strike.
Wading into the issue, President Buhari on Tuesday after receiving briefings from the relevant government Ministries, Agencies and Departments involved in resolving the face-off with the university unions, ordered the Minister of Education to ensure that the impasse was resolved within two weeks and report back to him.
Vanguard reported that insiders at the meeting mentioned that President Buhari also directed that the Minister of Labour and Employment, Senator Chris Ngige must be in any of the meetings to resolve the crisis.
The Academic Staff Union of Universities‘ National Executive Council is expected to meet on the 1st of August, 2022 over the lingering strike.
The council members are meeting to decide on whether to suspend or continue with the strike which enters its 155th day on Tuesday (today).
Recall that ASUU on the 14th of February, 2022 embarked on strike following the failure of the federal government to attend to its demands.
The Chairman of ASUU, Federal University of Technology, Minna chapter, Dr. Gbolahan Bolarin who spoke with Punch confirmed that the meeting will be held in the first week of August.
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