The Minister for Labour and Employment, Chris Ngige has disclosed that public universities in the country will resume in January 2021 after several months of inactivity as a result of industrial dispute between the government and the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU).
Speaking at his hometown in Alor, Idemili South Local Government Area of Anambra State, during the launch of his free medical outreach at the Community’s Health Center, the minister assured Nigerians that measures are being put in place to reopen the universities in January. .
The assurance followed the outcome of the Federal Government negotiation with the leadership of the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) last week Thursday.
Ngige said both parties will be back at the negotiation table on Wednesday, December 22, to resume discussions on the special assignment given to both sides at the last meeting.
The ASUU National President Prof. Biodun Ogunyemi said the union would respond to the minister’s assurance at a later date.
Ogunyemi reacting to Ngige’s claims that universities would resume by January next year stated, “ASUU shall respond appropriately by Wednesday, 23 December. Thank you.”
He also confirmed today’s meeting saying, “Yes, we are meeting tomorrow but I can’t speak further till Wednesday when I will be able to tell you if we will suspend the strike or not.”
Ngige expressed hope that there would be a breakthrough in the meeting with the lecturers who have been on strike since March. He added that the negotiations between ASUU and the government had reached 98 per cent remaining only 2 percent to be completed.
In a statement by the Minister, he said the government was willing to pay N40 billion for Earned Allowances which would be shared among three university-based unions and N30 billion for revitalization adding that the funds were ready for disbursement pending when the union agrees to call of the over eight-month-old strike.
He also said the government has accepted to exempt ASUU members from the integrated Payroll and Personnel Information System (IPPIS) pending the approval of the proposed payment system- the Univeristy Transparency and Accountability Solution (UTAS).
Also, the payment of arrears which has been a bone of contention in which the government and ASUU had failed to reach an understanding, the union insists on the settling of arrears of its member’s salaries before the strike would be called off.
The minister said, “We have met about 98 per cent of the request of ASUU. Some five to two per cent is what you can call promissory notes.
“So, I am very hopeful that by midnight today, there are some works we are supposed to get on to do. They also have some work they are supposed to do on their own side with their people.
“Tomorrow (Tuesday), we will meet in the afternoon and we will compare notes. We will put everything on the table and compare. I believe that we might have come to the end of the strike when we meet.
“Well, it is a journey of a thousand miles which you will have to take one step first. Tomorrow (today), all things being equal, we will agree now to agree because we were disagreeing before.
“We disagree to agree and agree to disagree formerly. But tomorrow (today), I hope we will agree to agree. Once we do that, schools will re – open in January.
