The Federal Government and the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) have scheduled a follow-up meeting for September 6, 2024, to address unresolved issues concerning the demands of university lecturers, Okay.ng reports.
The announcement followed a closed-door meeting held on Wednesday between the Minister of Education, Professor Tahir Mamman, and ASUU leadership, led by its President, Professor Emmanuel Osodeke. The meeting comes in the wake of a 21-day ultimatum issued by ASUU to the Federal Government to resolve outstanding concerns that have hindered the development of Nigerian universities.
During the meeting, Professor Mamman expressed optimism that a potential shutdown of universities could be avoided. He noted that sub-committees had been established to examine the issues at hand and were expected to report progress by next week.
“Hopefully, we have a very good window for the resolution of the issues. So, the task before us now is to work on those modalities and the processes and procedures we all agreed to study the problems,” Professor Mamman told reporters after the meeting. “We are coming back on September 6 to report back on the tasks we have set out to work towards the resolution of the issues. It has been a very friendly meeting, with a very good understanding of where we are and what we want to achieve for the university sector.”
ASUU President, Professor Osodeke, echoed the minister’s optimism, expressing hope that the issues would be resolved before the next meeting. However, when questioned about the possibility of a strike if no agreement is reached by September 6, he stated that any decision would be made by the union’s members.
“As a union, our leadership doesn’t decide for our members. Whatever we get by September 6 will be communicated to our members and they will decide on what to do next,” Professor Osodeke said.
The unresolved issues between ASUU and the Federal Government include the conclusion of the renegotiation of the FGN/ASUU Agreement based on the Nimi Briggs Committee’s draft Agreement of 2021, the release of withheld salaries from the 2022 strike action, and the release of unpaid salaries for staff on sabbatical, part-time, and adjunct appointments due to the application of the Integrated Payroll and Personnel Information System (IPPIS).
