The Minister of Education, Malam Adamu Adamu has said that he was shocked by the decision of the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) to proceed with indefinite strike action despite concerted efforts of the Federal Government to end the strike, lamenting that the past two weeks have been a very dark period of personal anguish and internal turmoil.
Adamu spoke in his opening address at a meeting he is currently having with the Pro-Chancellors and Vice-Chancellors of all Federal universities in the country.
He, however, noted that one major issue over which Government and ASUU and other Unions could not reach an amicable agreement was the issue of the law on No work, No pay, which he stated clearly that government would not break the law by paying withheld salaries of the lecturers during the period of the strike.
Adamu said Government is also guided by the directive of President Muhammadu Buhari, namely, that while the unions should be persuaded to return to work, “Government should not repeat the past mistakes of accepting to sign an agreement it will be unable to implement.
“Government should not, in the guise of resolving current challenges, sow seeds for future disruptions”.
He recalled how the Federal Government has held a series of meetings, including the revelation that he met ASUU in his house with a view to finding solutions to those issues that were considered thorny and generic to both the teaching staff (ASUU) and non-teaching staff Unions, Senior Staff Association of Nigerian Universities (SSANU, Non-Academic Staff Union of Universities (NASU) and National Association of Academic Technologists (NAAT).
On the offer made by the Government to ASUU and other staff unions, Adamu said the Federal Government could only afford a 23.5 per cent salary increase for all categories of the workforce in Federal Universities, except for the professorial cadre which will enjoy a 35 per cent upward review.
He added that henceforth allowances that pertain to ad-hoc duties of the academic and non-academic staff shall be paid as at when due by the Governing Councils of Universities to which such services are rendered and to the staff who perform them.
“That a sum of 150 billion Naira shall be provided for in the 2023 Budget as funds for the revitalization of Federal Universities, to be disbursed to the Institutions in the First Quarter of the year, and
“That a sum of 50 billion Naira shall be provided for in the 2023 Budget for the payment of outstanding areas of earned academic allowances, to be paid in the First Quarter of the year,” he said.
According to the Minister, the four University-based Unions, in separate letters addressed to the Chairman of the Government Re-negotiating Team, rejected Government’s offer which they described as inadequate to meet their respective demands needed to tackle the challenges confronting the university system.
He said: “Following the above development, I held several meetings with the individual striking University-based Unions, during which I explained the prevailing economic situation limiting the ability of Government to accede to all their demands. On those occasions, I also appealed to the Unions to consider and accept the Government’s offer and call off the ongoing industrial actions in the interest of the nation’s educational system.
“Consequently, the Joint Action Committee of NASU/SSANU and NAAT suspended their industrial action. Unexpectedly, and quite fortunately, on Monday, 29th August 2022, ASUU decided to extend its strike indefinitely. I want to say, categorically, however, that all is not lost: We have secured successes elsewhere,” he said.
