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ASUU Strike: End in sight as government increases payments to N70bn

Sen. (Dr.) Chris Ngige, Honourable Minister for Labour and Employment; Barr. Festus Keyamo, Minister of State for Labour and Employment in a Recent Meeting with ASUU Leadership in Abuja, FCT

*The parley was fruitful as the government made a proposal to ASUU which it would take back to its members, says Sen. (Dr.) Chris Ngige, Honourable Minister for Labour and Employment

Isola Moses | ConsumerConnect

The end of the eight-month long industrial union by the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) may have come finally, as the Federal Government has agreed to jack up the payment of its members’ earned allowances, and upgrade of the country’s University system to N70billion.

ConsumerConnect reports the academic union has agreed to end the strike which has grounded academic activities in the public universities since March 2020.

The leadership of ASUU reached the consensus to this effect at a meeting with the government team led by Sen. (Dr.) Chris Ngige, Honourable Minister for Labour and Employment, Friday, November 27, in Abuja, FCT.

The government agreed to pay N40bn as the Earned Allowance and N30bn for the revitalisation of the entire university system in Nigeria, bringing the total payments to N70billion.

Meanwhile, the Federal Government had pledged to settle the arrears of salaries of the lecturers before December 31, 2020.

The latest development is said to be unfolding Federal Government’s acceptance of ASUU’s demand, that the members be exempted from the contentious Integrated Payroll and Personnel Information System (IPPIS) pending the approval of their proposed payment system, the University Transparency and Accountability Solution.

ASUU is, therefore, expected to report the agreement to its organs across the country, and subsequently communicate the union’s decision to the government after which a date for the calling off of the strike would be announced.

Ngige, remarking after the meeting with the ASUU leadership, noted that the parley was fruitful, saying, the government made a proposal to the union which it would take back to its members.

However, a close source disclosed that ASUU yet insisted that the agreement should not be announced to its organs until it has been approved by its members.

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