The meeting between the leadership of the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) and the Federal Government on Tuesday in Abuja ended without an agreement.
Hence the six-month old strike by public university lecturers is set to continue.
ASUU had met with the Professor Nimi Briggs Committee at the National University Commission in Abuja with high hopes of resolving the impasse. The meeting lasted about 3 hours.
A senior member of ASUU, who craved anonymity told Channels Television that members of the Briggs renegotiation committee did not come with any new offer on the table.
Instead, the ASUU source said, the committee plead with the lecturers to suspend the ongoing strike, with promises that their concerns will be included in the 2023 budget.
Recall that on February 14, ASUU embarked on a four-week warning strike to protest the non-implementation of its demands by the federal government.
On March 14, the union extended the industrial action by another two months to allow the government meet all of its demands.
On May 9, a 12-week extension was announced.
The union has vowed to persist until its demands are met. ASUU has been on strike with another 4-week extension anounced on August 1.
ASUU’s demands
The union is seeking improved welfare, revitalisation of public universities and academic autonomy among other demands.
One main issue for the union is the non-payment of university revitalisation funds, which amounts to about N1.1 trillion, an agreement that was struck in 2009.
The Federal Government on its part said it doesn’t have the money to pay such an amount and that it will not borrow to meet ASUU’s demands.
Another bone of contention is the issue of the Integrated Payroll and Personnel Information System (IPPIS), to which ASUU proposed an alternative, the University Transparency and Accountability Solution (UTAS).
Ifunanya Ikueze is an Engineer, Safety Professional, Writer, Investor, Entrepreneur and Educator.
