ASUU Tells Ngige, Strike Continues, Insists on Signing of Renegotiated Agreement, UTAS

The Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU), on Tuesday, insisted that the ongoing strike will not be called off until the Federal Government sign the renegotiated agreement and accept the implementation of Universities Transparency and Accountability Solution (UTAS) as a payment platform.

ASUU which dashed the hope of parents and students for the early reopening of public universities also tackled the Minister of Labour and Employment, Dr Chris Ngige, accusing him of being responsible for the prolonged strike action by the Union.

ASUU President, Professor Emmanuel Osodeke, who briefed newsmen in Abuja, said the Union needed to make clarifications on some of the allegations made by the Minister of Labour and Employment.

Osodeke insisted that the strike would not be suspended until the Federal Government sign the renegotiated agreement, accept UTAS as the payment platform in place of the Integrated Personnel Payroll and Information System (IPPIS), released a revitalisation fund among other issues on demand.

ASUU President, hinted that ASUU is ready to end the strike any day Government fulfils its part of the bargain and also wants Ngige dropped from the Federal Government negotiation team.

Recall that ASUU had embarked on a four-week warning strike on February 14. On March 14, the union extended the industrial action by another two months to allow the government to meet all of its demands.

Again, on May 9, ASUU extended its rollover strike by another three months over the failure of the Federal Government to implement agreements reached with the Union.

However, the Federal Government through the Federal Ministry of Labour and Employment had invoked the No Work, No Pay policy by stopping the salaries of the lecturers.

ASUU says the Government resorted to the use of starvation as a weapon for breaking the collective resolve of ASUU members and undermine the patriotic struggle to reposition public universities in Nigeria was ill-advised and might prove counterproductive.