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ASUU Strike: Buhari promises to make consultations on lecturers’ demands.

President Muhammadu Buhari has promised to hold additional consultations on the demands of the striking Academic Staff Union of Universities.(ASUU).

On Friday at the Presidential Villa in Abuja, the President made the promise after meeting with the Chairman and select members of the Pro-Chancellors of Federal Universities.

Remember that ASUU went on a one-month warning strike on February 14th over the alleged inability of the Federal Government to meet their demands, and that the strike has been extended to this day.

Renegotiation of the 2009 Agreement, payment of Earned Academic Allowance, IPPIS inconsistencies, and demand for replacement of the payment platform with the University Transparency Accountability Solution, UTAS, are among the demands.

Although the government claimed it had made offers to ASUU, the union claimed there had been no meaningful offers from the government, and thus it has remained steadfast in calling off the seven-month-old strike.

However, during his meeting with the Chairman and select members of the Pro-Chancellors of Federal Universities, President Buhari promised to hold additional consultations with relevant stakeholders in order to end the long-running strike by university lecturers.

The President said without necessarily going back on what is already established policy, “I will make further consultations, and I’ll get back to you.”

The Pro-Chancellors were led to the meeting by Professor Nimi Briggs, who said they had come to meet with the President in three capacities: “As President and Commander-in-Chief, as father of the nation, and as Visitor to the Federal universities.”

He added that despite the pall cast by more than seven months of industrial action, “the future of university system in the country is good,” citing as example the recent listing of the University of Ibadan among the first 1,000 universities in the world, a development occurring for the first time.

Prof Briggs commended Federal Government for concessions already made to the striking lecturers, including the offer to raise salaries by 23.5 percent across board, and 35 percent for Professors.

He, however, asked for “further inching up of the salary, in view of the economic situation of the country.”

The Pro-Chancellors also requested that the government reconsider its No-Work, No-Pay policy, promising that lecturers would make up for lost time as soon as an amicable solution was reached and schools reopened.

Goodluck Nana Opiah, Minister of State for Education, stated that all concessions made by the Federal Government were to ensure that the strike ended, but ASUU has remained steadfast.

According to Saturday Vanguard, the Pro-Chancellors pleaded with the President to add a percent to the proposed 23.5 percent salary increase for lecturers, making it 28.5 percent.

On the government’s ‘no work, no pay policy,’ there was a plea that the President find a soft landing for the lecturers as they resume work, but it was unclear on what should be the sub-head of the fund, as the government has maintained its position that the lecturers do not deserve the payment because they did not work during the period when public universities were closed.