ASUU: Federal Government Says Strike To End Soon

The Federal Government has ensured that the ongoing warning strike by the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) will be called off as soon as possible.

The House of Representatives at a plenary on Tuesday, February 22, 2022, encouraged the members of the education sector to call off the ongoing strike for the sake of the students. 

The government expressed its amazement at the action which commenced Monday, February 14, 2022, by members of the union.

The Minister of Labour and Employment, Professor Chris Ngige expressed shock at the contradiction of the understanding made with the union through the Nigerian Inter-Religious Council (NIREC) steered by the Chairman of the Christian Association of Nigeria, Rev. Supo Ayokunle, and the Sultan of Sokoto, Alhaji Sa’ad Abubakar. 

The Minister who was on an official assignment in Botswana said he expected that members of the union would have settled their issues in a matter of days but that the strike had been apprehended and would involve another meeting with NIREC.

“I sincerely thought ASUU and the Ministry of Education would have resolved the issues, which hopefully are not major areas of dispute, warranting industrial action.

"To my surprise, I came back, and the strike is still on. Be that as it may, it is the mandate of my ministry to apprehend industrial disputes wherever they occur and we have apprehended this", he stated.

Ngige convinced the public that the industrial action would end soon and students would resume their academic activities.

ASUU, however, emphasised that if the strike must be called off, the government must meet its demands, especially the acceptance of the University Transparency and Accountability Solution (UTAS) as the portal of payment.