The misery of Nigerian students in public universities and their parents is bound to continue unabated as Tuesday’s meeting between the leadership of the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) and the Federal Government once again ended in a deadlock, without an agreement.
This means that the six-month-old strike by lecturers in public universities will continue.
The striking lecturers had met with the Professor Nimi Briggs Committee on Tuesday at the National University Commission in Abuja with high hopes of resolving the impasse.
A senior member of ASUU, who craved anonymity told Channels Television that members of the Briggs renegotiation committee did not come with any new offer on the table.
Instead, the ASUU source said, the committee pleaded with the lecturers to suspend the ongoing strike, with promises that their demands will be included and addressed in the 2023 budget.
According to the source, the meeting, which started at about 12 pm, lasted for about three hours without any agreement reached.
ASUU embarked on a four-week warning strike on February 14.
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On March 14, the union extended the industrial action by another two months to allow the government meet all of its demands. A 12-week extension was announced on May 9.
Since May 9, ASUU has sustained strike, vowing to not to relent until its demands are met.
The academics are seeking improved welfare, revitalisation of public universities and academic autonomy among other demands.
One bone of contention for ASUU is the non-payment of university revitalisation funds, which amounts to about N1.1 trillion.
But the Federal Government has said it doesn’t have the money to pay such an amount, citing low oil prices during the Muhammadu Buhari administration.
The agreement was struck in 2009.
Another is the issue of the Integrated Payroll and Personnel Information System (IPPIS).
ASUU proposed an alternative payroll system, the University Transparency and Accountability Solution (UTAS).
