FG, ASUU Talks Deadlocked Again, Parties Clash On N30bn Allowance
The meeting between the
Federal Government and the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) on
Wednesday ended in a deadlock after the government expressed that it does not
have enough money to meet the financial demands of the striking union.
ASUU is asking the Federal
Government to release N110 billion for revitalisation, and a N30 billion Earned
Academic Allowance promised for its members alone.
These were some of the
issues discussed at the resumed meeting between the union’s delegation and the
federal government team on Wednesday in Abuja.
The meeting again failed to
reach an agreement on these key issues and the controversial payroll system –
the Integrated Personnel Payroll System (IPPIS) after hours of deliberation.
Speaking at the end of the
meeting, the labour minister, Chris Ngige, said the government cannot pay
the N110 billion ASUU is demanding for the revitalization of universities.
“There are three issues,
revitalization fund where the government offered ASUU N20 billion as a sign of
good faith based on the MoU they entered into in 2013 as a result of the
renegotiation they had with the government in 2009,” he said.
Ngige expressed that the
government is still committed to the revitalization of public universities.
“While we are giving them
offers of some fund, this government is not against revitalization but this
government says that because of dire economic situation, because of COVID-19,
we cannot really pay the N110 billion which they are demanding for
revitalization,” he said.
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