The Federal Government and the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) met on Friday night in an attempted peace deal brokered by Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF), Senator Anyim Pius Anyim. However, it ended in deadlock.
According to Governor of Benue State, Gabriel Suswam who was a mediator between both parties, meetings would still be held next week in the hope that a resolution of all outstanding issues can be reached.
Suswam, who’s the new FG appointee to drive the implementation of Needs Assessment Report to Nigerian Universities, believes the industrial action will be over once the matters of Earned Allowance and funding of university education for infrastructure development can be addressed.
With these two remaining the two pending matters, the SGF would meet ASUU’s leaders on Monday on Earned Allowance while Suswan’s committee would meet ASUU on Thursday.
In his opening remark earlier at the meeting, Anyim had conveyed FG’s determination to resolve the crisis so the lecturers can return to the classroom.
“Our meeting today is blessed with injection of new hands, new faces and new minds,” he said. “It is expected that our meeting today will be fruitful because we would have more hands helping us to resolve what is outstanding.”
He recalled that the implementation committee of Needs Assessment Report to Nigerian Universities was just inaugurated, and its chairman, Governor Gabriel Suswam, has been very committed to ending the strike.
“On this note, I am convinced that their desire to see this matter resolved is simply because of their commitment to national progress,” Anyim said, adding that the Needs Assessment was undertaken based on the desire to revitalise university education in the country.
