Nigerian govt begs ASUU to suspend 59-day-old strike

The Federal Government on Thursday appealed to members of the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) to suspend their prolonged strike.

The union embarked on a 30-day warning strike on February 14 over the government’s refusal to honour agreements signed by both parties.

ASUU later extended the strike by another eight weeks on March 14 over the government’s recalcitrant position on the matter.

The varsity teachers are demanding the implementation of the memorandum of action agreed upon by both parties, including improved funding and removal from the Integrated Payroll and Personnel Information System (IPPIS).

The Minister of Labour and Employment, Chris Ngige, made the call in a chat with journalists after receiving the letter of notification on his nomination by Sun Newspaper Publishing Limited for the award of “Public Service Icon 2021.”

READ ALSO: NLC suggests establishment of panel to address ASUU strike

He charged ASUU to return to their students for resumption of academic work in the nation’s public universities.

Ngige said the federal government was unrelenting in its efforts at addressing all the industrial disputes in the university system, involving ASUU and other unions.

He said: “Everything contained in the December 2020 agreement was religiously executed to the extent that the federal government aggregately paid N92 billion from the 2021 budget.

“This is to cover the revitalisation funds and Earned Academic Allowances/Earned Allowances for non-teaching staff.”

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