The intervention by the Senate President Bukola Saraki into the one-week
warning strike by the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU)
failed to yield any positive result, as the absence of the Finance
Minister Kemi Adeosun marred the resolution of the crisis.
At a
marathon meeting with the national leadership of the Union on Wehe
Ministry of Education as well as Labour and Productivity, no agreement
was reached, as the Union vowed to continue with the strike.
The meeting which lasted for about three hours was presided over by Saraki.
The
one-week strike which commenced on Wednesday enters its second day
today, even as ASUU President Biodun Ogunyemi told newsmen that the
industrial action would continue.
Areas of disagreement between
the Union and government include: payment of fraction of staff
entitlement and the denial of staff entitlement in respect of earned
academic allowance amounting to about N128 billion, funding of
universities for revitalization and the refusal to register the the
Nigerian Universities Pension Management Company by the National
Compensation Commission.
Others include the introduction of the
TSA, decrease in budgetary allocation to education and the refusal by
government to renegotiate the 2009 agreement which was due for
renegotiation since 2012.
Addressing journalists after the
meeting, Chairman Senate Committee on Tertiary Education and TETFUND,
Barau Jibrin, disclosed that a sub-committee has been set up to resolve
the issues.
He said another meeting would hold today which would
include the Finance Minister and Director General of the Budget Office,
Ben Akabueze.
Said Jibrin: “We have had a fruitful deliberation.
And a way forward has been found by creating a sub-committee of this
committee to sit and find out certain things in the Ministry of Finance
which will bring us close to the resolution of this problem. We will
start sitting by tomorrow (today) including the Ministry of Finance who
has not been able to attend this meeting but we are sure she will be
here tomorrow and the Director General of the Budget Office.
“We
have created a template about how to resolve this problem. And you know
ASUU is a democratic body, they have to consult. So, it’s ongoing, it’s a
work in progress. And a very important headway has been created. A good
template has been created. And we see light at the end of the tunnel”.
On
their part, Minister of State for Education, Anthony Anwuka and
Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Labour and Employment, Clement Ilo,
commended the Senate leadership for its intervention and expressed
optimism that they issues would be resolved very soon.
The Senate
Tuesday mandated Saraki to liaise with the Academic Staff Union of
Universities (ASUU) and the Executive arm of government over the warning
strike by the Union.