ASUU Strike: Nigerian Govt and ASUU Set to Meet Wednesday

A committee chaired by Nigeria’s Minister of Education, Tahir Mamman, will meet with officials from the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) on Wednesday to discuss the concerns that have fueled the union’s threat of another strike.

 

The planned meeting is part of the government’s efforts to prevent a walkout by lecturers at public universities.

ASUU Vice President and Professor Chris Piwuna confirmed this to our correspondent on Monday.

He stated that the union met with the administration last week to discuss key topics. He stated that some ASUU members will meet with the committee to discuss certain grey areas, stressing that the meeting would not be between Mr Mamman and ASUU leadership, but rather with selected members to interface with the committee.

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“Just as our president instructed us, we met with the administration last week and listened to their actions. But some issues need to be addressed, which this committee will hopefully clear,” he added in a phone interview.

Mr. Piwuna did not disclose information about the group’s work, only stating that “it would be better if the committee’s work is concluded, perhaps the president will be able to speak on them.”

Essential details

Prof. Mamman, a professor, formed the group following his first meeting with ASUU after the union issued a 21-day strike warning last month.

Following its National Executive Council (NEC) meeting on August 18 at the University of Ibadan, ASUU urged governments to address all “outstanding issues” impeding the growth of the country’s universities, which prompted its 2022 strike.

The union objected to the education minister’s “slow pace of intervention” in resolving the concerns, which included reviewing and signing the renegotiated 2009 FGN-ASUU agreement.

The union is also challenging the continued use of a centralized payment platform, the Integrated Personnel Payroll Information System (IPPIS), to pay its members’ salaries.

  

Though Mr. Mamman stated in December that the institution had been excluded from the payment network, ASUU maintains that its members are still getting paid using what it refers to as ‘News IPPIS’, which it claims is the same platform it rejected.

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