Nigerian govt claims agreements with ASUU were signed under duress

The Federal Government on Thursday alleged that majority of the agreements signed with the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) were done under duress.

This was contained in a statement issued by the Permanent Secretary of the Federal Ministry of Education, Sonny Echono, during a retreat organised by the governing council of the University of Abuja.

He said, “I have heard so much about the fact that the government has failed to honour the agreements with ASUU. I have a different view about that because most of these agreements are imperfect.

Read also: Labour Minister, Ngige, reacts to ASUU strike threat, says govt can’t fund education alone

“If somebody comes to my house and puts a gun to my head, I might agree to everything because those agreements are signed under duress. If you want to introduce obligations or responsibilities on their part, they will insist you cannot.”

Undergraduates across the nation’s public universities continue to bear the brunt as the ASUU continuously embarks on industrial actions to press home their demands ranging from payment of allowances to the IPPIS implementation.

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