The Federal Government says it has set up a tactical committee to review its “no work, no pay” stance against striking members of the Academic Staff Union Of Universities (ASUU).
In response to the outcome of a meeting between the Minister of Education, Adamu Adamu, and Pro-Chancellors, Chairmen of Councils, and Vice Chancellors of institutions, this was revealed by Ben Goong, Director of Press and Public Relations at the Federal Ministry of Education.
The conference was a part of efforts to end the seven-month strike by public university instructors.
He stated that the committee must also look at the issue of raising university instructors’ wages and find practical answers.
Adamu Adamu, the minister of education, claimed that the federal government has done all possible to put an end to the ASUU’s protracted strike.
In a meeting with the provosts and vice chancellors of federal universities on Tuesday at the National Universities Commission (NUC) in Abuja, the minister said that all prior attempts by the government to get the lecturers back in the classroom had failed.
He said he and many government officials had engaged the union on several occasions to end the seven-month-old strike.
“We have done the best that we can in the circumstance. After inter-ministerial consultations and rounds of hard negotiations with all government agencies, we interacted with the Unions. I personally, gave it all it required to resolve the current challenges.
“I met the Unions anywhere and everywhere possible with facts, with figures, and with absolute sincerity.
“For example, I directly met with ASUU leadership in my house, in my office and at the ASUU Secretariat on several different occasions, in addition to other formal engagements going on,” he said.
The Minister added that President Muhammadu Buhari had directed them not to accept any demand that is not feasible.
Recall that the federal government led by President Muhammadu Buhari refused to accede to ASUU’s demands, thus last week they announced a complete and indefinite strike.
Symbol News Alert is aware that the current ASUU strike began on February 14, 2022.
The strike is being held in opposition to the government’s refusal to release funds for university revitalization, the white paper report of the panel’s visit to universities, and the failure to implement the University Transparency Accountability System for the payment of lecturers’ salaries and benefits.