The Outcome of ASUU’s Closed-Door Meeting with FG Revealed

The Outcome of ASUU’s Closed-Door Meeting with FG Revealed

Nov 16, 2018 8:59 AM

The Outcome of ASUU’s Closed-Door Meeting with FG Revealed

.The Federal Government and Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) resumed talks with 

the leaders of the Academic Staff Union of Universities over the ongoing strike in public 

universities which started on November 4th.

They have both agreed to resume talks next week to resolve the ongoing strike by university 

teachers.

Dr Chris Ngige, the Minister of Labour and Employment, told newsmen at the end of a closed-

door meeting with the union in Abuja on Thursday that the talks had been fruitful.

“We will resume discussions by next week,’’ Ngige said. Prof. Biodun Ogunyemi, ASUU 

President, also confirmed that the meeting would continue next week.

“We have just started the discussion, we have really not gone too far, so what we have done 

today was to open the issues. By tomorrow we should meet and decide when we reschedule 

the meeting.

“This means that the strike still continues,” Ogunyemi said.

The lecturers resumed strike on Nov. 5 over demands for improved funding of public 

universities based on agreements reached with the Federal Government in 2009.

Some of the demands by the union are that the Federal Government should nominate another 

chairman of the government renegotiating team of the 2009 ASUU/Federal Government 

Agreement to replace Dr Wale Babalakin.

Other issues bothering the union are non-payment of Earned allowance, funding of 

revitalization of the Nigerian universities, implementation of needs assessment report, poor 

funding of state universities, among others.

Those present at Thursday’s meeting were the Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of

Education, Mr Sonny Echonu, and Dr Isa Fagge, former ASUU President.