The Federal Government has said it remains optimisic that the ongoing strike by the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU), Senior Staff Association of Nigerian Universities (SSANU), the Non-Academic Staff Union(NASU), and the Association of Academic Technologists(AAT) will end soon.
The government also assured that its three-part meeting with university-based unions would yield fruits next week.
This was contained in a statement issued by Head, Press and Public Relations in the Ministry of Labour and Employment, Mr Olajide Oshundun.
Oshundun, in a statement on Friday, said some agreements had been reached between the government and the unions.
He noted that the government, in a bid to solve the lingering issue constituted a three-part committee.
The parties were the Chief of Staff to the President and Chairman of the three-part meeting, Prof. Ibrahim Gambari, the Chairman of the Nigeria Inter-Religious Council, the Sultan of Sokoto, Alhaji Sa’ad Abubakar III, and the President of the Christian Association of Nigeria and co-chair of NIREC, Rev. Sampson Ayokunle.
The negotiation team also had the Ministers of Labour, Finance, Education, ASUU leaders, and other stakeholders.
During the meeting, Gambari lamented that the perennial problems in the universities had culminated in the mutilation of the nation’s educational calendar.
He appealed to all the aggrieved unions to return to work while negotiations were ongoing, adding that the resumption is necessary to avoid violence by students who had begun blocking roads and airports in protest of the prolonged strike.
He also assured that his principal, President Muhammadu Buhari is determined to reslove the ongoing dispute.
Speaking after the meeting, the Minister of Labour and Employment, Senator Chris Ngige said the meeting yielded good fruits, adding that the agreements made during the meeting will start maturing next week.
In his words: “We had a cordial and fruitful discussion; we looked at the issues dispassionately and reached some agreements, to the satisfaction of everybody in attendance.
“We discussed. Everybody was happy. We reached some agreements, and we hope that by next week those agreements will start maturing.
“The four unions will also go and brief their members so that they can call off the strike.”
ASUU had embarked on a nationwide strike since February 2022.
On Monday, the union announced its decision to extended its ongoing roll-over strike by another three months.
The body is demanding funding for the revitalisation of public universities, the Earned Academic Allowances, the University Transparency Accountability Solution (UTAS) and promotion arrears.
Others include the renegotiation and implementation of the 2009 ASUU-FG Agreement and the inconsistency in the Integrated Personnel Payroll Information System.
