There is a gleam of hope for a peaceful resolution of the 7-month-old face-off between the federal government and the striking members of the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU).
The signs followed the setting up of a 14-member committee to further look into the contentious issues, including that on withheld salaries of the university teachers in view of the government’s insistence to apply its ‘no work, no-pay policy.’
The strike commenced February 2022 and has continued to generate reactions from Nigerians who variously blamed both the union and the federal government for failing to come to a truce.
The federal government had earlier announced that the only issue that was left with the embattled teachers was the application of the ‘no work no rule pay’ which it vowed to implement to the letter.
The striking teachers declared a total, comprehensive and indefinite strike following the federal government’s failure to meet their demands.
At different times, ASUU also accused the duo of Education Minister Adamu Adamu and Minister of Labour Chris Ngige of misinforming Nigerians about the seemingly unending strike.
And just recently, the union set up a commute to counter the misinformation on the strike.
Truce in sight?
But parties would be returning to the table to resolve the logjam as the federal government set up a committee chaired by the Minister of Education, Malam Adamu Adamu.
The committee, the minister said, is also to review other outstanding issues, including the proposed salary increase for university workers flowing from the recommendation of the Emeritus Professor Nimi Briggs-led renegotiation committee on the 2009 FGN/ASUU agreement.
Director Press and Public Relations of the ministry, Mr. Ben Bem Goong, said this in a statement issued Tuesday after the minister’s meeting with the Pro-chancellors and Vice-Chancellors of Federal Universities at the National Universities Commission (NUC) Abuja.
He said the committee’s report would be presented to President Muhammadu Buhari in the coming days.
One of the key reasons ASUU turned the close to seven months’ strike indefinite was the disagreement over the percentage of salary increase for the lecturers and the refusal to pay them the backlog of salary arrears withheld for the period of the industrial action.
23.5% salary increase
And as a further demonstration of the federal government’s readiness to end the face-off, the minister also said the government could only afford 23.5 percent salary increase for lecturers, and 35% for professors.
He said President Buhari warned against signing agreements which the government would not be able to meet.
Addressing the vice-chancellors and other stakeholders during the meeting, Adamu also said allowances pertaining to ad-hoc duties of the academic and non-academic staff shall be paid as at when due by the various Governing Councils of the universities.
He said: “The Federal Government can only afford a 23.5% salary increase for all category of the workforce in Federal Universities, except for the professorial cadre which will enjoy a 35% upward review.
“Henceforth, allowances that pertain to ad-hoc duties of the academic and non-academic staff shall be paid as at when due by the Governing Councils of Universities to which such services are rendered and to the staff who perform them.
“That a sum of 150 billion Naira shall be provided for in the 2023 Budget as funds for the revitalization of Federal Universities, to be disbursed to the Institutions in the First Quarter of the year, and that a sum of 50 billion Naira shall be provided for in the 2023 Budget for the payment of outstanding areas of earned academic allowances, to be paid in the First Quarter of the year.”
The minister told the stakeholders he had been in internal turmoil over the protracted strike.
While lamenting the closure of public universities for months, Adamu charged the federal government and other stakeholders to rise to the challenge of ending the industrial action.
“For me, the past two weeks have been a very dark period of personal anguish and internal turmoil. I used to deceive myself that in a climate of frankness, and with mutual goodwill, it will fall to my lot to bring an end to the incessant strikes in the education sector.
“This has not proved possible, or, at least, not as easy, quickly and straightforward, as I used to think.
“Distinguished chairmen, vice-chancellors, I called you today not to share with you my anguish but to share with you the details of what we have done and what remains to be done. And certainly, a lot remains to be done. But for very different reasons, the current positions of government and ASUU on the future of negotiations seem not to have coincided.
“For me, this is a position I would have wanted us to reach after an amicable resolution of all the issues contained in the 2009 agreements. It appears that we are running ahead of the negotiations but not for the right reasons. The president of ASUU has been reported to have said the union would no longer negotiate with the current federal government.
“This position must be resisted. Government and ASUU have no option than to continue talking until our universities have reopened their doors to students, who clearly are the principal victims of the seemingly unending strikes. In the circumstances, therefore, all councils and Senates of our universities are enjoined to rise up to their responsibilities.
“We must, together, continue to work to restore our public universities to where they were in the 60s and 70s. As the most important officers in our university system, Pro-Chancellors and Vice-Chancellors must demonstrate more commitment to ending the ongoing strike.
“As chairmen of Councils and Senates – the highest policy and academic bodies in the system – you must consider it your paramount duty to promote policies and actions that will discourage industrial disputes in our campuses. Government will continue to support the physical and academic development of its universities.
“Government will continue to reasonably enhance the working conditions of all university staff, academic and non-teaching.
“The main challenge, as you are fully aware, is dwindling resources available to address all the concerns of the citizenry. We thank you for your support, understanding and sacrifices,” Adamu said.
VCs speak up
Addressing newsmen after the meeting, the Committee of Vice Chancellors of Nigerian Universities (CVCNU) said it has put together a negotiation team to ensure a resolution of the face-off.
Speaking on behalf of the group, the ex-secretary-general and team co-coordinator, Professor Michael Faborode, said this had become necessary to end the lingering industrial action.
He said no serving VC or pro-chancellor was included in the peace body, adding that membership was based on the record of service.
The members are Professor Jibril Aminu, ex-VC, University of Maiduguri (UNIMAID); Emeritus Professor Olufemi Bamiro, former VC, University of Ibadan (UI); Professor Ekanem Braide, President, Academy of Science; Dr Nkechi Nwagogu, ex-Pro-Chancellor, University of Calabar (UNICAL); Professor Fatima Mukhtar, ex-VC, Federal University, Dutse; Professor Akpan Ekpo, ex-VC, University of Uyo (UNIUYO).
The rest members include Professor Joe Ahaneku, ex-VC, Nnamdi Azikiwe University (UNIZIK); Professor Yakubu Ochefu, Secretary General, CVCNU; and Professor Michael Faborode, ex-VC, Obafemi Awolowo University (OAU).
Faborode said scholars would no longer watch as “our house collapses on us as elders.”
The ex-university administrator said as scholars, they had no other industry than the university system and were therefore ready for talks aimed at improving the lots of the system.
He said efforts would be built around the Briggs committee recommendations in order to come up with a quick fix of the situation, noting that the “Peace Team of Elders” would operate under the auspices of the CVCNU/CPC.
Faborode further said the team would reach both the federal government and the union on the need to accept the need for its intervention as an independent team.
Also speaking after the meeting, the pro-chancellor of the National Open University of Nigeria (NOUN), Professor Peter Okebukola, said the government was ready to ensure the university teachers resume work.