STRIKE: FG, ASUU resume talks in Abuja

The Federal Government and Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) on Tuesday resumed talks on the ongoing efforts to end the nine-month strike by the varsity lecturers.

The Minister of Labour and Employment, Chris Ngige, led the federal government’s team while ASUU was presented by its president, Prof. Biodun Ogunyemi, and a few other members of the union’s national body at the meeting held at the Ministry of Labour and Employment in Abuja.

Ogunyemi had told journalists on Monday the union would make public its decision on the matter on Wednesday.

ASUU embarked on an indefinite strike in March over the Integrated Payroll and Personnel Information System (IPPIS) and funding of the universities.

READ ALSO: Ngige expresses optimism ASUU will accept Nigerian govt’s offer, suspend strike

The union rejected IPPIS on the grounds that it violates university autonomy and proposed the University Transparency and Accountability Solution (UTAS) as an alternative to the government’s payroll system.

The development forced the government to withheld ASUU members’ salaries for some months.

However, the federal government agreed last month to increase the lecturers’ Earned Allowance from N30billion to N35 billion and university revitalisation fund from N20 billion to N25billion.

It also agreed to exempt ASUU members from the IPPIS.

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