The Federal Government on Wednesday gave an indication that the lingering Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU), strike, may soon come to an end.
The Minister of Education, Adamu Adamu, while speaking at the inauguration of the reconstituted government team on the renegotiation of the 2009 agreement with ASUU, noted that progress had been made in negotiations geared towards ensuring an end to the recurring impasse.
Adamu decried the industrial actions, which have affected the university circle over the years.
“The federal government and relevant stakeholders, in the past months, have been neck-deep in several meetings with the leadership of the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) and others, to resolve the outstanding issues that led to the current industrial action in public universities.
“Although most of the residual issues were part of the comprehensive agreement reached with the previous administration, I can report that significant progress has, so far, been recorded and there is an opportunity that our public universities, like their private counterparts, will soon reopen for academic activities”, he hinted.
The minister urged all stakeholders to play their part in efforts to restore confidence in university education.
The team, categorized into substantive members, advisers, and observers, is led by Professor Emeritus Munzali Jibril.
The body will propose and prescribe short, medium, and long-term measures for the sustainable funding and management of federal universities.
It will take another look at the 2009 agreement and work with each union towards a workable and implementable agreement between both parties.
The team will make any other recommendations to ensure the realistic implementation of future agreements, by all stakeholders.
The 8 months ASUU strike, which began in March 2020, has led to a general outcry from Nigerian students.
ASUU is demanding more funding for universities, while also kicking against federal government implementation of the Integrated Payroll and Personnel Information System (IPPIS).
