Strike: ASUU Issue More Complicated than Nigerians Think — Lai Mohammed

The Federal Government revealed on Wednesday that the reasons behind the ongoing strike by ASUU and three other university unions are not as simple as they want Nigerians to believe.

The Federal Government has indicated that the ongoing conflict with the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) is complicated.

Lai Mohammed, Minister of Information and Culture, stated this on Wednesday following a meeting of the Federal Executive Council (FEC) presided over by President Muhammadu Buhari.

Despite the complexities, he stated that much is being done behind the scenes to resolve the issues.

The minister stated that the Federal Government is concerned about the long-running issues with the lecturers and will continue to work to find a quick solution.

ASUU has been on strike since February 14 over issues such as the implementation of the Integrated Personnel Payroll Information System (IPPIS), non-payment of salaries and allowances, and inadequate university funding, among others.

On Monday, the government and union officials continued their negotiations to end the four-month-long strike.

However, the meeting between the striking lecturers and the Professor Nimi Briggs Committee ended without a concrete agreement because members planned to reconvene within 24 hours to consider a draught agreement.

Both parties held discussions at the Nigeria University Commission (NUC) in Abuja, the Federal Capital Territory (FCT).

According to a senior union member who attended the meeting, they reached some agreements with the Federal Government, but members had to take a break and reconvene within 24 hours to consider the new terms in the draught agreement.

On March 7, the Federal Government appointed a committee led by Professor Briggs with a three-month mandate to renegotiate the 2009 ASUU/Federal Government agreement.