National president of the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU), Prof. Biodun Ogunyemi has stated that government was not saying anything new in its negotiations with university lecturers, thus prolonging the industrial action which began on November 4, according the news monitored Tuesday by on Channels Television in Abuja.
Ogunyemi also denied reports in the press that he and his colleagues walked out on government’s representatives in their latest negotiation meeting, which held on December 17.
He reassured that the meeting ended successfully except that he did not address journalists waiting outside the Ministry of Labour and Employment since there was nothing new to say.
“We did not walk out. It was just that government was not saying anything new. We keep telling them that all we have been having in the last six weeks were mere promises,” Ogunyemi said.
The union leader said he was worried because Minister of Labour and Employment, Chris Ngige had assured journalists that the strike would end that day even before the meeting began. The statement had given him and his colleagues considerable embarrassment.
“In fact we were worried when the Minister of Labour and Employment went to the public to say we would conclude discussions even before the meeting. We were disappointed because as at the time, there was nothing new on the table.”
He noted that implementing all previous agreements reached with the union is sure way to pacify the lecturers.
“It is not about pacification. It is about concrete demands. In September 2017, a memorandum of action was signed. The essence of the memorandum of action is that for every item, there is a timeline.
“Government owes us 1.1 trillion naira that we need to transform our universities and reposition them for reckoning and global competition.”
