Friday 18 October 2013

ASUU STRIKE: FG, ASUU strike new deal

ASUU STRIKEGovernment has made fresh concession to the demands by the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU), in a bid to end the over three-month-old strike.
Nigerian Tribune gathered that the negotiation with the leadership of the union, which had now been taken by Vice President Namadi Sambo, struck a new deal on Friday, last week.
In the new agreement reached with the union, government had agreed to increase the N30 billion already released for the payment of academic earned allowance to N40 billion.
This, according to sources in the meeting held with the vice president, also agreed that the N40 billion should be regarded only as first instalment, and not a once-and-for-all payment.
The memorandum drafted at the of the meeting indicated that government would top it up with further releases once universities were through with the disbursement of the N40 million.
Accordingly, vice chancellors have been urged to expedite the disbursement within the shortest possible time, using guiding templates that had been sent by the committee of vice chancellors to them.
This fresh concession by the Federal Government followed two meetings on Thursday, September 19 and Friday, October 11, which had representatives of Association of Vice Chancellors of Nigerian Universities, led by its chairman, Professor Hamisu ATBU, and ASUU representatives led by its president, Dr Nasir Isa Fagge.
The government side had Vice President Sambo, Minister of Education, Mr Nyesom Wike, among others.
On the implementation of the Needs Assessment to Nigerian Universities report, it was stated that government was cognisant and mindful of the ability of universities to effectively and efficiently utilise the N100 billion fund
immediately, hence that figure.
Also, on project prioritisation, universities would now be allowed to determine their priorities and not be “rail-roaded” into implementing a pre-determined set of projects, with respect to the NEEDS assessment.
The government also assured that the operations of the Tertiary Education Trust Fund (TETFund) would not be impaired, and that the regular TETFund intervention disbursement to Universities would continue unaffected.
Sources at both meetings said ASUU president thanked the vice president for taking over negotiations and promised to consult with his ASUU constituency.
However, ASUU president, Fagge, as of the time of filing this report, did not respond to text message or calls to his mobile phone to confirm the new agreement.

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