ASUU STRIKE: Union distances from alleged end strike report

The Academic Staff Union of Universities, ASUU has disassociated from a news report that it agreed to call off the ongoing strike after meeting with the Government negotiation team led by the Minister of Labour and Employment, Senator Chris Ngige on Friday.
The Federal Government at the meeting at the Conference Hall of the Ministry of Labour and Employment did pledged to pay N40bn as the Earned Allowance and N30bn for the revitalisation of the university system bringing the total payment to N70bn.

After the lingering strike which has grounded academic activities in the public universities since March, the FG further agreed to settle the arrears of salaries of the lecturers before December 31.
Speaking to journalists after the meeting, Ngige noted that the parley was fruitful, adding that the government made a proposal to ASUU which it would take back to its members.
He said, “Many issues were discussed at the meeting, including salary shortfall, the payment system and revitalisation of the university system. I am positive that all the issues would be resolved at our next meeting.”
This is happening one week after the Federal Government accepted the demand by the ASUU that they be exempted from the Integrated Payroll and Personnel Information System pending the approval of their proposed payment system,
the University Transparency and Accountability Solution.
Recall that the union had on March 24 2020 embarked on an indefinite strike over the failure of the Federal Government to keep to the 2019 Memorandum of Action between them as well as the lingering disagreement over the Integrated Personnel and Payroll Information System that ASUU rejected.
Government had previously appealed to the union to call off the strike and the government met six of the union’s nine demands which lingered the strike.
ASUU is expected to report the agreement to its organs and then communicate their decision to the government after which a date for the calling off of the strike would be announced.
Meanwhile ASUU President, Prof. Biodun Ogunyemi, denied knowledge of any agreement to call off the strike, stressing that at the meeting, it was only agreed that union should convey Government message to their organs and get back to Government.
Friday’s meeting was about the seventh time both sides have met to resolve the issues in contention since the university union embarked on strike on March 23.